NCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


COUNCIL  HELD  AT  ST.  HELENA 
CALIFORNIA,  JUNE  4  to  14,  1915 


Council  Proceedings 

OF  THE 

Joint  Council  of  the  Educational  and 
Missionary  Volunteer  Departments 
of  the  North  American  Division 
Conference  of  Seventh-day 
Adventists, 


Held  at 

Pacific  Union  College 
St.  Helena,  California 
June  4  to  14,  1915 


Published  by 

Review  and  Herald  Publishing  Association 
Washington,  D.  C. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/councilproceedinOOgene 


FOREWORD 


We  are  glad  to  present  to  those  interested  in  our  educational  and 
young  people’s  work,  the  report  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Educational 
and  Missionary  Volunteer  Council,  held  at  St.  Helena,  Cal.,  June 
4  to  14,  1915.  This  report  includes  not  only  the  Council  pro¬ 
ceedings,  but  certain  results  growing  out  of  the  work  of  the  six  con¬ 
ventions  held  in  our  various  college  districts  after  the  Council.  These 
conventions  were  held  at  Pacific  Union  College,  St.  Helena,  Cal.; 
Walla  Walla  College,  College  Place,' Wash.;  Union  College,  College 
View,  Nebr. ;  Emmanuel  Missionary  College,  Berrien  Springs,  Mich.; 
Washington  Missionary  College,  Takoma  Park,  Washington,  D.  C.; 
the  Southern  Training  School,  Graysville,  Tenn. 

Without  question,  this  Council  and  the  series  of  conventions  con¬ 
stituted  the  strongest  Educational  and  Missionary  Volunteer  effort 
we  have  ever  made.  The  Council  was  made  up  of  a  representative 
delegation  from  every  part  of  the  North  American  Division.  The 
great  majority  of  the  educational  superintendents  and  secretaries, 
the  Missionary  Volunteer  secretaries,  and  the  teachers  of  our  schools 
were  in  attendance  at  the  conventions.  The  plans  adopted  were 
progressive  and  comprehensive,  and  will  influence  the  work  of  these 
Departments  for  a  long  time  to  come. 

The  sessions  of  the  two  Departments  were  held  alternately,  but 
as  the  proceedings  could  not  be  arranged  to  advantage  in  that  way, 
they  are  grouped  separately  in  two  parts,  with  those  of  certain  joint 
sessions  appearing  in  the  first  part. 

At  each  of  the  conventions  the  actions  taken  by  the  Council 
were  presented,  and  the  general  interests  of  the  work  of  the  two  De¬ 
partments  were  considered.  It  was  understood  at  the  Council  that 
requests  for  any  changes  or  additions  to  actions  pertaining  to  education 
could  be  introduced  at  any  of  the  conventions,  and  after  consideration 
by  the  subsequent  conventions,  would  be  acted  upon  by  ballot  through 
the  mail.  This  plan  was  carried  out,  and  a  considerable  number  of 
questions  were  voted  upon  in  writing  by  all  the  delegates  to  the  Council 
and  all  the  Department  members.  The  results  of  these  ballots  have 
been  incorporated  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Council  as  an  integral 
part  of  it. 

This  report  is  an  effort  to  make  more  permanent  the  results  of 
these  meetings,  and  to  bring  to  all  who  are  interested  in  the  salvation 
and  training  of  our  children  and  young  people,  something  of  the  in¬ 
spiration  and  help  which  were  received  by  those  who  attended. 

Frederick  Griggs,  Sec'y  Ed.  Dept. 

M.  E.  Kern,  Sec'y  Mis.  Vol.  Dept. 


6 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


We  pray  thee,  dear  Father,  to  remove  everything  from  us  that 
would  hinder  the  free  working  of  thy  Spirit.  The  work  which  thou 
hast  committed  to  our  charge  for  the  young  people  is  so  great  that 
no  one  can  do  it  but  thee.  We  are  weak,  we  feel  our  weakness;  we 
know  that  we  cannot  do  it.  Therefore  we  pray  thee  to  help  us  to 
consecrate  ourselves  to  thee  right  at  the  beginning  of  this  service,  to 
confess  our  sins,  and  to  let  thy  Spirit  cleanse  us  from  everything  that 
might  mar  thy  work  here,  so  that  thou  canst  work  mightily  in  us  all 
and  instruct  us  freely.  May  we  remove  every  obstacle  so  that  thou 
mayest  work,  and  that  the  imprint  of  heaven  may  be  stamped  upon 
this  meeting,  upon  this  Council,  and  upon  what  shall  be  decided. 

So,  dear  Father,  we  put  ourselves  into  thy  hands.  We  pray  thee 
to  work  among  us  and  in  us  and  through  us  as  only  an  infinite  God 
can  work,  for  Jesus’  sake.  Amen. 

F.  Griggs:  Let  us  sing  No.  664.  This  is  a  good  song.  The  sen¬ 
timent  is  appropriate  for  the  beginning  of  this  Council. 

Words  of  Welcome 

C.  W.  Irwin:  We  have  looked  forward  with  great  pleasure  to  the 
time  when  we  should  have  the  privilege  of  seeing  once  more  those 
who  are  associated  with  us  in  this  great  work  of  educating  and  train¬ 
ing  our  youth;  and  we  are  pleased  that  this  time  has  come  tonight, 
and  that  under  such  favorable  auspices  and  circumstances  we  can 
meet  together  in  the  very  opening  of  this  Council. 

We  wish  to  tell  you,  at  the  very  beginning,  that  all  we  have  is 
yours, —  our  climatic  conditions,  which  we  hope  will  be  favorable, 
though  we  cannot  promise,  they  are  yours;  our  nice  spring  water  is 
yours,  all  you  want  to  drink;  the  bounties  of  our  table  are  yours; 
and  our  musicians  will  do  all  that  they  can  for  you.  So  tonight  we 
wish  to  tell  you  that  whatever  we  can  do  for  your  pleasure  we  shall 
be  only  too  pleased  to  do. 

We  have  met  here  as  a  company  of  fellow  workers  in  a  great  cause. 
As  I  look  over  this  audience  tonight,  I  see  a  large  number  of  those 
with  whom  I  have  been  associated  in  the  past.  I  see  schoolmates 
with  whom  I  have  attended  college;  I  see  also  those  who  have  been 
my  teachers  in  times  past;  and  I  see  those  who  have  been  my  students. 
I  take  personal  pleasure  in  extending  a  hearty  welcome  to  you  all. 
Above  all,  I  am  sure  that  the  Spirit  of  God  is  present  tonight,  and 
he  welcomes  us. 

As  I  have  thought  over  this  occasion,  and  its  opportunities  and 
privileges,  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  it  may  mark  a  very  great  step 
in  our  work.  We  are  living,  as  we  all  know,  in  the  very  closing  mo- 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


7 


ments  of  this  world’s  history.  The  time  is  ripe  for  us  to  lay  the  very 
wisest  plans  for  the  propagation  of  the  work  that  is  before  us. 

I  wish  to  say  this,  that  as  we  meet  here  on  this  occasion,  I  trust 
that  we  are  all  praying  that  God  will  guide  us  in  the  deliberations  of 
the  Council.  As  Brother  Evans  read  to  us  tonight,  the  Spirit  of  God 
is  willing  and  anxious  to  teach  all  of  his  children;  and  I  believe  that  he 
is  endeavoring  to  fit  us  up  for  a  much  greater  work  than  we  have 
yet  done. 

Now,  Professor  Griggs  and  Professor  Kern,  we  turn  over  to  you 
the  keys  of  this  institution,  and  we  trust  that  the  Spirit  of  the  Great 
Teacher  will  guide  you  both  in  carrying  forward  the  work  of  the 
Council. 

Response 

M.  E.  Kern:  It  is  a  great  privilege,  I  feel,  to  be  here.  We  who 
live  on  the  other  side  of  the  continent  have  also  looked  forward  with 
great  anticipation  and  great  pleasure  to  this  night.  Personally  I 
have  always  felt  that  the  Council  ought  to  be  held  here,  and  I  was 
very  glad  when  the  turn  of  affairs  came  that  made  it  possible  for  us 
to  hold  the  meeting  here.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  place  that  has 
been  so  generously  turned  over  to  us  is  an  ideal  one  for  holding  a 
meeting  of  this  kind.  I  have  thought  since  coming  here  a  few  hours 
ago  of  the  contrast  between  this  place  and  some  other  places  that  I 
have  visited  recently  as  suitable  for  such  a  meeting.  Here  in  the 
mountains  that  God  has  piled  up,  under  his  trees,  in  this  beautiful 
situation,  is  an  ideal  place  for  men  and  women  who  are  seeking  for 
wisdom  to  know  how  to  guide  the  youth  of  the  denomination,  to  meet 
and  ask  God  to  give  it. 

Then,  too,  the  surroundings  otherwise  —  the  people  who  live  here 
being  in  perfect  accord  and  sympathy  with  the  objects  of  this  meet¬ 
ing  —  make  it  an  ideal  place  to  hold  the  meeting.  These  very  walls 
and  buildings,  built  with  the  sacrifice  of  people  who  believe  in  this 
advent  message,  who  believe  that  Jesus  is  coming  soon,  help  to  make 
an  atmosphere  which  ought  to  bring  out  the  best  there  is  in  us,  and 
bring  down  from  heaven  the  best  that  God  has  for  us,  in  this  blessed 
meeting. 

There  is  one  statement,  given  many  years  ago  by  the  servant  of 
God,  that  has  made  a  deep  impression  upon  my  mind.  It  is  the  first 
sentence  in  the  old  book  "Christian  Education:”  "It  is  the  nicest 
work  ever  assumed  by  men  and  women  to  deal  with  youthful  minds.” 
As  I  have  thought  of  this  delicate  work,  and  feared  lest  my  clumsy 
hand  should  mar  the  part  that  I  have  had  to  do  in  it,  I  have  ear¬ 
nestly  longed  for  wisdom  that  I  might  know  how  to  do  my  part  right. 


8 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


It  seems  to  me  tonight  that  if  I  had  the  choice  that  was  given  to 
Solomon,  to  ask  the  thing  that  my  heart  desires  most,  with  the  assur¬ 
ance  that  God  would  give  it  to  me,  it  would  be  that  I  might  know 
how  to  direct  and  guide  the  minds  of  our  developing  young  people 
into  those  channels  that  will  make  their  lives  a  success  and  make  them 
workers  in  the  cause  of  God. 

I  feel,  dear  brethren  and  sisters,  that  we  have  a  great  problem. 
I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  company  assembled  anywhere  in  the  earth 
today,  or  ever  will  be  assembled,  with  more  important  problems,  more 
important  themes  to  discuss,  than  we  have  here. 

I  am  thankful  for  this  hearty  welcome  that  has  been  given  us  since 
we  arrived,  and  even  before  we  arrived;  and  I  believe  that  we  shall  all 
together  earnestly  seek  God  and  study  that  we  may  know  how  to  do 
the  work  that  God  has  given  us  to  do.  This  meeting  is  being  held 
at  a  great  cost  in  money  and  time;  and  for  my  part  I  am  exceedingly 
anxious  that  this  shall  be  no  ordinary  meeting,  but  that  it  shall  be 
an  extraordinary  meeting;  that  we  shall,  as  Professor  Irwin  has  sug¬ 
gested,  see  this  Council  mark  a  new  epoch  in  our  work.  It  should 
be  so;  it  must  be  so. 

In  behalf  of  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Department,  we  accept  the 
welcome  you  have  extended  to  us,  and  we  unite  with  you  who  are 
located  here,  in  the  study  of  the  great  problem  of  the  salvation  and 
training  of  our  young  people. 

F.  Griggs:  I  am  certain  that  no  more  hearty  welcome  could  be 
extended  to  us  than  you  have  extended,  in  turning  over  to  us  the  keys 
to  the  institution.  And  I  am  very  glad  that  the  keys  have  been 
turned  over,  for  I  believe  there  is  stored  up  here  a  wealth  of  good  will 
and  kindness,  and  I  am  glad  to  get  at  such  stores  for  myself,  and  I  am 
sure  that  we  all  are.  We  do  most  heartily  appreciate  the  kindly 
welcome  which  has  been  accorded  us. 

Ever  since  it  was  decided  that  our  Council  should  be  held  here,  I 
have  been  glad,  because  I  think  it  will  be  a  great  help  to  our  work 
as  a  whole, —  to  the  young  people’s  work  and  the  educational  work, 
thus  bringing  together  all  these  workers  in  the  North  American  Di¬ 
vision,  from  the  East  to  the  West,  and  the  West  to  the  East,  all  en¬ 
gaged  in  the  one  great  work. 

Our  brethren  from  the  West  have  again  and  again  come  to  the 
East  to  attend  councils;  but  this  is  the  first  time  that  we  have  held  a 
general  educational  council  on  the  Coast.  I  am  glad  that  so  many 
of  us  can  have  the  privilege  of  seeing  this  beautiful  land,  for  it  is  a 
privilege;  and  I  wish  it  were  possible  for  all  the  teachers  in  the  North 
American  Division  to  be  with  us  tonight. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


9 


Now,  as  has  been  indicated,  it  is  very  important  that  at  the  very 
beginning  of  this  meeting  we  should  sense  its  meaning,  its  relation  to 
this  great  second  advent  movement.  We  believe  that  we  have  the 
largest  work  in  all  the  earth,  and  as  Professor  Kern  has  said,  there 
is  no  meeting  being  held  in  the  world  today  that  is  really,  in  truth, 
fraught  with  greater  interests,  greater  possibilities,  in  which  heaven 
itself  is  more  deeply  interested,  than  in  our  meeting  here  tonight. 

At  the  very  heart  of  this  great  movement  lies  the  work  for  our 
young  people.  We  have  come  here  to  better  understand  our  work, 
and  to  get  a  glimpse  of  what  it  means  to  the  work  of  God,  this  great 
finishing  work  of  God.  We  have  a  noble  heritage:  Christ  was  a 
teacher.  We  have  a  wonderful  calling, —  the  imparting  of  knowledge, 
the  imparting  of  character,  the  imparting  of  life.  We  need  to  sense 
the  sacredness  of  our  calling. 

I  am  glad  that  our  meeting  is  beginning  on  the  Sabbath.  We  have 
these  hours  in  which,  at  the  very  commencement  of  our  Council,  we 
can  consecrate  ourselves  to  God.  Consecration  is  a  personal  matter; 
so  let  us  take  time  during  these  hours  for  holy  contemplation,  time 
for  prayer,  time  for  special  consecration,  for  we  are  very  anxious  that 
from  this  meeting  there  shall  go  an  impulse  that  may  be  felt  not  only 
in  the  North  American  Division  Conference,  but  in  the  remotest  cor¬ 
ners  of  the  earth. 


EDUCATIONAL  PROBLEMS  AND  POLICIES 

FREDERICK  GRIGGS 

The  circumstances  under  which  we  meet  in  this  Council  demand 
an  expression  of  gratitude  for  the  message  in  whose  proclamation  we 
are  engaged,  and  for  the  means  which  God  has  provided  for  its  an¬ 
nouncement. —  the  printing  press,  the  telegraph,  the  telephone,  and 
rapid  conveyance  for  the  printed  page  and  the  messenger  of  truth, 
—  gratitude  that  while  fierce  hatred  fills  the  hearts  of  nearly  all  the 
nations  of  Christendom,  comparative  peace  reigns  in  our  own  land. 
Our  people  are  not  in  poverty.  It  is  ours  to  help  rather  than  to  be 
helped.  We  are  grateful  to  God  for  the  liberty  of  our  homeland, 
the  land  in  which  this  last  glorious  message  of  salvation  had  its  birth. 
We  are  glad  for  peace  and  abundance.  But  we  must  know  that  for 
all  these  mercies  God  will  bring  us  to  account,  and  lay  on  us  a  debt, 
not  only  to  the  people  of  our  own  land,  but  to  those  of  all  climes. 
And  may  God  still  preserve  to  us  our  liberties,  that  we  may  the  more 
effectively  advance  his  cause  of  eternal  peace. 


10 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


At  the  beginning  of  our  Council  it  is  well  for  us  to  recognize  its 
importance.  The  men  who  have  wrought  great  service  for  God  and 
their  fellow  men  have  been  those  who  have  felt  the  greatness  of  their 
mission.  John  the  Baptist  knew  that  he  was  the  voice  of  God;  Jesus 
Christ  knew  that  he  was  the  Sent  of  God;  Paul  continually  felt  the 
constraint  of  his  charge  to  the  world;  and  Jeremiah  felt  his  burden 
of  reproof  as  a  fire  burning  within  his  bones,  from  which  he  vainly 
sought  to  escape.  It  is  only  when  men  feel  the  weight  of  the  commis¬ 
sion  of  heaven  that  they  can  perform  its  work.  It  is  only  as  we  realize 
the  awfully  solemn  import  of  this  last  message  of  salvation  to  a 
perishing  world  that  we  can  ever  be  anointed  of  God  to  preach  it. 

Education  in  its  true  sense  is  identical  with  the  gospel  of  salvation. 
Its  purpose  is  the  restoration  of  the  image  of  God  in  the  soul,  the 
harmonious  development  of  all  the  powers  of  being,  physical,  mental, 
and  spiritual,  into  a  perfect  personality.  No  educative  effort  is  strong 
unless  it  be  inspired  by  a  strong  motive;  and  no  motive  could  be 
greater,  stronger,  or  more  inspiring  than  that  presented  to  us  in  the 
education  of  the  children  and  youth,  namely,  that  of  becoming  co¬ 
workers  with  Christ,  and  being  fitted  to  reign  with  him  as  kings  and 
priests.  And  this  is  not  rhetoric,  but  reality. 

We  are  met  in  a  council  of  two  departments  whose  united  work 
lies  at  the  very  heart  of  this  great  second  advent  movement.  It  is 
the  first  time  since  the  organization  of  the  Missionary  Volunteer  and 
Educational  Departments  that  we  have  thus  met  for  mutual  confer¬ 
ence  concerning  our  common  cause.  The  work  of  these  departments 
is  one;  they  differ  only  in  the  field  of  their  activities.  Our  one  interest 
is  the  salvation  of  every  child  in  every  Adventist  home;  but  this  can 
be  accomplished  only  as  we  educate  and  train  our  noble  army  for  serv¬ 
ice.  This  united  study  of  our  mutual  problems,  which  we  shall  make 
in  this  Council,  must  inevitably  result  in  a  great  increase  in  the  effi¬ 
ciency  and  strength  of  each  department,  and  in  the  more  rapid  ad¬ 
vancement  of  this  last  glorious  message  of  salvation  to  a  world  fast 
hastening  to  its  doom. 

Organization  and  Finance 

The  problems  of  organization  and  finance  are  many,  varied,  and 
pressing.  An  interesting  and  perhaps  profitable  hour  might  be  spent 
in  tracing  the  growth  and  development  of  our  educational  work;  but 
with  this,  most  of  us  are  more  or  less  familiar.  The  growth  of  our 
schools  during  the  last  seven  years  has  been  truly  phenomenal.  The 
average  annual  increase  in  the  enrollment  of  our  church  schools  has 
been  nearly  one  thousand  pupils.  This  has  been  accomplished  only 
because  of  the  spirit  of  unity  and  cooperation, 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


11 


Notwithstanding  all  this,  there  has  been  a  looseness  in  the  man¬ 
agement  of  our  work  which  has  resulted  in  waste  of  money  and  effort. 
More  than  one  school  has  been  established  and  heavy  obligations  in¬ 
curred,  and  losses,  educational  as  well  as  financial,  have  been  sus¬ 
tained  for  want  of  thorough,  careful,  practical  supervision.  In  a 
way,  our  churches  and  conferences  have  been  “a  law  unto  themselves.” 
But  now,  while  we  must  sacredly  preserve  this  right  of  local  control, 
—  a  right  in  itself,  but  made  more  necessary  because  of  financial 
responsibility, —  we  must  yet  seek  for  greater  cooperation  between 
the  different  grades  of  our  schools,  and  for  a  more  effective  organ¬ 
ization. 

In  the  past  the  actions  taken  in  General  Conference  session  and 
by  the  Department  looking  to  this  more  perfect  organization  and  unity, 
have  at  times  either  been  forgotten  or  ignored.  It  is  but  natural 
that  the  people  of  a  church  or  conference,  or  even  of  a  union  confer¬ 
ence,  should  see  in  their  peculiar  circumstances,  conditions  which 
seem  to  them  to  demand  a  different  treatment  from  that  agreed  upon 
by  the  general  body.  Or  perhaps  they  feel  their  needs  so  strongly 
that  they  forget  the  action  of  the  general  body.  It  is  necessary 
in  any  organization,  that  individual  benefits  be  surrendered  for  the 
greater  common  good  of  all.  This  has  been  the  problem  of  all  or¬ 
ganization,  from  the  Federal  and  State  governments  to  the  simplest 
form  of  township  organization.  It  enters  into  every  society  and  into 
every  home.  It  is  the  one  problem  running  all  the  way  from  our 
General  Conference  to  our  church  organizations.  And  it  is  a  funda¬ 
mental  question  which  confronts  us  today  in  the  strengthening  of 
our  organization. 

Every  school  of  every  grade,  and  every  teacher  working  in  any 
class  of  certification,  may  have  representation  either  direct  or  indi¬ 
rect  in  the  council  or  conference  that  passes  upon  the  work  which 
relates  to  them.  This  thought  has  been  kept  in  mind  in  the  organi¬ 
zation  of  this  present  Council.  We  have  sought  to  have  the  proper 
representation  from  all  grades  of  our  schools  and  all  classes  of  our 
teaching  force;  and  while  it  can  only  be  naturally  expected  that  the 
legislation  enacted  here  in  this  Council  will  not  meet  the  ideas  of 
all,  and  may  in  some  instances  seem  to  work  a  hardship  to  some, 
yet  for  the  common  good  of  all,  we  most  earnestly  bespeak  a  spirit 
of  loyalty  to  the  actions  of  this  Council,  here  and  hereafter.  I  do 
not  go  too  far  when  I  say  that  the  work  of  this  Council  will  be  the 
more  easily  performed  if  the  members  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  ma¬ 
jority  rule  —  the  spirit  of  concession. 

In  this  connection  I  recall  our  Educational  Convention  of  1906, 
held  at  College  View.  It  was  at  this  convention  that  we  sought  for 


12 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


an  establishment  of  curricula  for  our  schools.  Some  of  our  schools 
were  running  without  a  curriculum,  and  a  few  of  them  felt  strongly 
opposed  to  the  plan.  Over  and  again  during  that  convention  the 
chairman  stated  that  there  was  nothing  binding  upon  any  school  to 
adopt  the  curricula  being  worked  out;  that  we  were  seeking  only  for 
some  basis  of  general  uniformity;  and  that  any  school  might  adopt  or 
in  any  way  modify  the  courses  of  study  suggested  by  the  convention, 
or  might  continue  to  run  as  some  were,  without  any  advanced  course. 
It  was  interesting  to  note  that  within  the  next  two  or  three  years 
these  suggested  courses  outlined  by  the  convention  had  very  ma¬ 
terially  influenced  and  changed  the  courses  in  the  various  schools. 
But  there  is  yet  quite  a  diversity  in  our  courses  of  study,  units 
of  credit,  length  of  recitation,  and  school  term  —  differences  which 
weaken  our  work  as  a  whole. 

Has  not  the  time  fully  arrived  when  we  should  determine  that  we 
will  conform  to  the  actions  of  this  Council  in  all  matters  of  courses, 
as  well  as  in  all  other  matters,  except  where  it  may  be  found  neces¬ 
sary  to  do  otherwise  because  of  unavoidable  lack  of  facilities  either 
in  teaching  force  or  equipment;  and  that  we  shall  seek  to  adjust  our 
teaching  force  and  equipment  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  to  bring 
them  into  perfect  line  and  unity  with  the  whole  body?  Adaptation 
is  one  of  the  laws  of  growth. 

We  have  thirteen  standing  committees  that  are  to  report  to  this 
Council.  Some  of  these  committees  will  make  reports  that,  if  adopted, 
will  demand  important  changes,  and  will  hold  us  to  standards  that 
mean  strong  effort  on  our  part.  Now  I  most  earnestly  bespeak  each 
delegate  to  pledge  himself  to  this  spirit  of  loyal  cooperation.  I  am 
not  asking  for  this  because  the  officers  of  the  Department  have  any 
legislation  that  we  want  to  force  through.  We  do  have  measures  that 
we  desire  to  see  passed,  but  we  ourselves  pledge  to  abide  by  the  ma¬ 
jority  rule.  The  remark  attributed  to  Ben  Franklin  at  the  time  of 
the  signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  has  equal  applica¬ 
tion  here  at  this  Council:  “We  must  all  hang  together,  or  we  shall 
hang  separately.” 

I  do  not,  by  what  I  have  said  on  this  point  of  unity,  intend  to 
convey  the  idea  that  the  majority  are  always  right,  nor  to  intimate 
that  in  matters  of  conscience  we  are  bound  to  do  as  they  may  legis¬ 
late;  but  in  matters  of  policy  such  as  we  will  have  before  us  here, 
we  who  may  be  in  the  minority  on  any  question  may  well,  for  the 
sake  of  unity  and  for  the  greater  good  of  one  cause,  work  in  the  har¬ 
ness  of  the  majority,  while  cheerfully  biding  our  time  until  the  ma¬ 
jority  shall  discover  the  righteousness  of  our  contention  and  acclaim 
us  men  of  wisdom. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


13 


I  speak  thus  at  length  upon  this  question  of  unity  and  suggest  it 
so  strongly  because  I  regard  it  as  vital  to  the  rapid,  healthy  growth 
of  our  work.  I  have  visited  all  our  colleges,  nearly  all  our  academies, 
and  have  conferred  much  with  those  in  charge  of  our  elementary 
schools  during  the  past  year,  and  I  find  throughout  and  on  the  part 
of  each  educator  an  earnest  desire  to  meet  the  mind  of  God  and  the 
needs  of  our  message  in  our  educational  undertakings.  And  I  most 
earnestly  inquire  of  you,  my  fellow  teachers,  has  not  the  time  now 
fully  come  —  and  indeed  has  it  not  always  been  with  us  —  when  we  of 
one  school  should  no  longer  decry  the  efforts  of  its  struggling  neigh¬ 
bors?  There  are  too  many  imperfections  in  each  of  our  schools  and 
in  each  of  us  as  workers  to  make  it  fitting  for  us  to  speak  of  the  im¬ 
perfections  of  others.  So  from  now  on  we  will  unitedly  seek  in  our 
work  to  eradicate  the  evil  and  implant  the  good. 

Efficiency  in  Supervision  a  Means  of  Growth 

Among  the  many  problems  of  our  schools  grouping  themselves 
under  the  larger  one  of  organization  and  finance,  lies  that  of  greater 
efficiency  in  our  teaching  force  and  school  supervision.  And  this  is 
particularly  evident  in  our  elementary  schools,  many  of  which  are  in 
woeful  need  of  competent  and  thorough  supervision.  This  is  brought 
about  by  two  main  causes:  First,  the  majority  of  our  superintendents 
are  loaded  up  with  other  duties  so  that  they  do  not  have  time  for 
this  work;  and  second,  some  persons  are  chosen  to  act  as  superintend¬ 
ents  who  are  unqualified  from  lack  of  education  and  experience. 

It  is  here  that  the  financial  problem  enters.  It  would  seem  that 
these  problems  are  incapable  of  solution,  and  that  our  work  will  con¬ 
tinue  to  be  inefficient  until  our  people  are  more  thoroughly  aroused 
to  the  importance  of  their  duty  in  the  education  of  their  children. 

But  the  problem  now  turns  back  upon  itself,  for  it  takes  time  and 
effort  to  arouse  our  people  to  the  importance  of  our  church  schools, 
and  this  in  part  is  the  work  of  the  superintendent  whose  services  we 
lack.  “How  can  we  hear  without  a  preacher?”  Further,  the  term 
of  service  of  our  whole  force,  superintendence  and  lay,  is  altogether 
too  short  and  variable  for  successful  work;  we  must  earnestly  seek  for 
more  competent  and  continuous  service. 

We  have  come  to  the  place  in  the  development  of  our  school  work 
where  in  general  it  may  be  said  that  there  is  a  church  school  in  the 
majority  of  churches  where  one  can  be  established  and  conducted 
with  reasonable  ease.  And  now  if  new  schools  are  established,  time 
must  be  spent  and  earnest  work  done  by  the  superintendent  in  public 
meetings,  in  fireside  talks,  and  in  providing  ways  and  means  for  the 


14 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


school.  This  Council  should  give  careful  consideration  to  this  mat¬ 
ter,  and  express  itself  strongly  on  the  duty  of  our  conferences  to  pro¬ 
vide  efficient  supervision,  and  then  we  must  work  most  earnestly  to 
make  such  action  effective.  The  growth  of  our  advanced  schools 
will  be  measured  most  largely  by  the  increase  of  our  elementary  schools. 

It  is  not  a  good  financial  policy  on  the  part  of  our  conferences,  to 
allow  the  children  of  our  churches  to  attend  worldly  schools.  If  they 
had  proper  supervision,  such  a  condition  would  not  exist.  I  re¬ 
cently  heard  a  conference  president  say  that  in  one  of  the  oldest 
churches  in  his  conference,  by  actual  count,  sixty-two  young  people 
had  drifted  out  of  the  truth,  into  the  world,  and  were  lost  to  the 
cause.  He  said :  — 

“We  had  no  school  there,  and  the  people  felt  that  they  could  not 
afford  the  high  rate  at  our  union  school.  The  Presbyterian  Church 
established  a  very  creditable  school  in  their  midst,  with  education 
practically  free.  Some  of  our  people  sent  their  children  there  rather 
than  let  them  grow  up  in  ignorance,  as  this  school  was  better  than 
the  free  school.  As  a  result,  in  one  family  all  the  young  people  are 
members  of  that  church,  and  one  young  man  has  become  a  Presby¬ 
terian  minister.” 

The  conference  is  now  employing  an  educational  secretary,  and 
their  churches  are  arousing  to  the  situation  and  are  maintaining 
church  schools  at  a  great  financial  sacrifice. 

The  president  further  said:  “We  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  salvation  of  our  churches  in  this  State  is  in  the  training  of  the 
children  and  youth  in  our  schools.”  This  same  condition  is  doubtless 
duplicated  in  scores  and  perhaps  hundreds  of  instances. 

We  must  enter  upon  a  campaign  of  publicity.  We  should  have 
reliable  information  concerning  each  of  our  children  and  youth.  There 
should  be  the  closest  cooperation  between  the  Missionary  Volunteer 
and  the  Educational  workers  in  securing  this  information.  And  we 
should  at  this  time  lay  plans  to  this  end.  Every  young  man  and 
woman  in  our  ranks  should  be  enrolled  in  our  schools,  either  in  the 
correspondence  school  or  in  one  of  the  resident  schools. 

Efficiency  in  the  Spiritual  and  Social  Work  of  Our  School  Life 

It  is  the  personal  touch  of  the  Christian  teacher  that  most  strongly 
influences  the  growth  of  noble  characters  in  the  students.  While 
every  teacher  is  responsible  for  securing  this  cordially  helpful  relation 
between  himself  and  every  one  of  his  pupils,  yet  upon  those  in  charge 
of  students  away  from  their  homes  this  responsibility  rests  most 
heavily.  The  president  and  his  wife,  the  preceptor  and  his  wife,  and 


COUNCIL  PEOCEEDINGS 


15 


the  preceptress  and  matron  are  those  most  heavily  charged  with  this 
matter.  I  wish  it  noted  that  I  have  mentioned  the  wives  of  the  head 
of  the  school  and  the  preceptor,  for  I  regard  these  women  as  occu¬ 
pying  a  place  of  large  consequence  in  the  spiritual  and  social  atmos¬ 
phere  of  a  school.  And  I  believe  that  our  preceptors  should  be  mar¬ 
ried  men  whose  wives  have  the  faculty  of  securing  to  the  young  men 
a  charming,  refined  home  atmosphere. 

This  work  on  the  part  of  the  president  and  those  in  charge  of  the 
school  homes  requires  an  amount  of  time  far  beyond  what  in  general 
has  been  allowed.  In  nearly  all  our  schools  the  president  is  business 
manager,  and  the  preceptor  and  preceptress  are  carrying  heavy  and 
perhaps  full  teaching  work.  Has  not  the  time  come  when  “it  is  not 
reason  that  we  should  leave  the  word  of  God,  and  serve  tables”? 
There  is  a  great  loss  to  us  in  our  failure  to  give  these  workers  time  to 
enter  into  and  influence  the  lives  of  the  young  people  who  are  away 
from  their  homes  in  a  special  sense,  and  of  all  students  in  a  general 
sense.  Speaking  generally,  and  perhaps  not  so  generally  after  all, 
we  need  a  culture,  social  and  spiritual,  in  our  school  homes  and  in 
the  whole  school,  which  we  do  not  and  will  not  have  until  time  is 
given  those  who  alone  most  influence  such  standards  of  culture,  and 
until  such  work  is  demanded  of  them. 

Financial  Budgets 

The  financial  feature  of  our  schools  needs  most  careful  attention. 
Strict  economy  should  be  exercised  in  all  details  of  management,  and 
plans  should  be  laid  for  a  broad,  strong  growth.  Ample  provision 
should  be  made  for  such  a  teaching  force  as  will  enable  teachers  to  do 
a  spiritual  and  cultural  work  for  their  students  which  is  now  left 
undone.  Proper  facilities  in  the  way  of  buildings,  laboratories,  and 
libraries  should  be  provided.'  The  rooms  should  be  well  lighted  and 
ventilated,  the  floors  and  walls  and  furniture  kept  clean  and  in  good 
repair,  and  the  whole  culinary  and  dining-room  service  should  be  a 
model  as  to  healthfulness  and  proper  etiquette. 

All  this  can  be  brought  about  with  reasonable  expenditure  of 
money,  and  we  must  in  a  sensible  way  set  ourselves  to  its  accomplish¬ 
ment.  There  should  be  prepared  each  year  a  careful  budget  of  ex¬ 
penditures  and  receipts,  in  which  provision  is  made  for  necessary  im¬ 
provements  and  development.  It  may  be  necessary  to  secure  funds 
in  addition  to  those  of  the  regular  income,  but  the  amount  being 
known  and  provided  for,  there  will  be  no  deficit.  We  have  been  con¬ 
ducting  our  school  work  on  altogether  too  narrow  and  parsimo¬ 
nious  a  basis,  and  we  need  to  educate  ourselves  to  a  rationally  progres- 


16 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


sive  standard.  Money  carefully  invested  in  the  education  of  our 
youth  yields  the  largest  returns  of  any  expenditure  we  can  make. 

Our  Correspondence  and  Medical  Schools 

We  need  to  address  ourselves  in  a  vigorous  way  to  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  our  Correspondence  School.  We  should  have  thousands  of 
pupils  enrolled  where  now  we  have  hundreds;  and  it  should  be  in 
fact  one  of  the  largest  features  of  our  educational  system,  as  it  cer¬ 
tainly  is  in  principle. 

Proper  credit  for  the  work  done  in  the  Correspondence  School 
should  be  allowed  by  our  resident  schools.  This  is  one  of  the  most 
effective  ways  of  increasing  their  enrollment.  While  the  growth  of 
the  Correspondence  School  has  been  an  encouraging  one,  having  a 
total  enrolment  for  the  five  years  of  its  existence  of  906,  yet  this  is 
pitiably  small  when  we  consider  the  demands  of  our  cause  for  this 
school. 

The  time  is  here  when  this  school  should  be  given  a  different  stand¬ 
ing  than  it  has  had.  Instead  of  having  one  man  devoting  a  portion 
of  his  time  to  its  interests,  together  with  a  little  assistance  in  the  prep¬ 
aration  and  examination  of  lessons,  there  should  be  a  regular  staff  of 
teachers,  each  a  specialist  in  the  field  of  study  in  which  he  instructs, 
devoting  their  entire  time  to  the  work  of  the  school. 

We  must  put  more  of  our  heart  into  the  upbuilding  of  this  school. 
To  him  who  gives  there  shall  be  given.  The  energy  which  we  expend 
in  placing  this  school  on  a  proper  foundation  and  causing  it  to  grow, 
will  result  in  a  harvest  for  each  of  our  resident  schools.  We  must 
be  more  unselfish  in  our  work. 

During  the  last  five  or  six  years  medical  education  has  received  a 
great  deal  of  attention  by  us.  The  medical  college  at  Loma  Linda  is 
just  sending  out  its  second  graduating  class.  There  are  many  per¬ 
plexities  confronting  the  work  of  this  school,  both  scholastic  and 
financial,  to  which  this  Council  may  most  properly  address  itself. 

Department  Sections 

The  Berrien  Springs  Convention  outlined  and  established  the  fol¬ 
lowing  sections  of  the  Educational  Department:  Administrative, 
Bible,  History,  Science,  Language,  English,  Normal,  Industrial, 
Music,  Homes,  Medical,  Mathematics,  Public  Speaking,  and  Com¬ 
mercial.  This  plan  of  organization  provided  for  a  secretary  as  sole 
officer  of  each  section.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  secretary  to  act  as  a  me¬ 
dium  of  communication  for  all  the  members  of  the  section,  to  appoint 
committees  when  necessary  to  carry  forward  the  work  of  the  section, 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


17 


to  give  attention  to  problems  concerning  the  teachers  of  his  depart¬ 
ment,  and  to  recommend  books  and  helps  to  be  used  by  the  teachers 
in  their  work. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  not  very  much  has  been  accomplished  by  these 
sections,  and  yet  they  were  organized  to  meet  a  great  need,  which 
still  exists.  The  teachers  of  our  various  departments,  such  for  in¬ 
stance  as  history  and  mathematics,  do  not  have  the  opportunity  of 
mutual  conference,  and  there  needs  to  be  a  medium  of  communica¬ 
tion  to  assist  them  in  strengthening  their  work  by  mutual  suggestions 
and  cooperation.  This  cannot  be  carried  out  to  the  best  advantage 
by  one  not  connected  with  the  departments  in  which  help  is  sought. 
The  reason  for  the  inefficiency  of  these  sections  is  due  undoubtedly 
to  the  press  of  work  upon  the  secretaries. 

This  Council  should  give  consideration  to  the  work  of  these  sec¬ 
tions.  Either  they  should  be  discontinued,  or  steps  should  be  taken  to 
make  them  effective.  In  the  nature  of  the  case  it  would  seem  to  be 
wise  to  take  the  latter  course. 

Our  Schools  and  the  Ministry 

The  greatest  purpose  of  our  schools,  if  indeed  not  the  only  purpose, 
is  to  develop  evangelistic  workers.  The  ministry  of  the  word  is  in¬ 
deed  God’s  highest  calling  to  man.  No  class  of  workers  sent  forth 
from  our  schools  should  have  higher  standards  of  intellectual  and  spir¬ 
itual  attainment  than  those  entering  the  ministry.  Our  ministerial 
courses  should  require  the  full  sixteen  grades,  and  to  this  end  our 
academies  should  be  discouraged  from  giving  special  ministerial 
courses.  This  is  not  saying  that  no  one  should  enter  the  ministry 
until  he  has  completed  such  courses  of  instruction,  nor  is  it  saying 
that  men  may  not  take  special  studies  for  the  ministry  without  taking 
a  full  course;  but  it  is  saying  that  the  intellectual  standard  established 
by  the  school  for  the  ministry  should  be  as  high  as  that  for  any  other 
calling. 

Business  Education 

In  the  development  of  our  work  there  is  a  growing  need  for  compe¬ 
tent  business  men  and  office  help.  It  is  painfully  apparent  that  the 
efficiency  of  the  office  force  of  our  institutions  and  conferences  is 
greatly  impaired  by  the  lack  of  properly  trained  workers,  and  this 
lack  harks  back  to  the  prerequisites  for  the  business  courses.  Our 
accountants  and  stenographers  should  have  a  good  general  educa¬ 
tion.  There  has  come  to  the  Department  of  Education  from  our 
offices  a  demand  that  the  prerequisites  for  graduation  from  our  busi¬ 
ness  courses  should  be  twelve  grades  of  work. 


18 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Our  Relation  to  the  Book  Work 

The  phenomenal  development  of  our  publishing  work  has  made  it 
one  of  the  most  important  features  of  our  cause.  There  has  been  a 
growing  spirit  of  cooperation  between  the  schools  and  the  publishing 
workers,  which  has  been  mutually  beneficial.  The  growth  of  this 
work  seems  to  demand  a  special  preparation  for  it, —  the  education 
of  men  and  women  who  will  devote  their  lives  to  this  line  of  effort. 
To  this  end  it  may  be  necessary  to  introduce  into  our  curricula  courses 
specially  adapted  for  the  training  of  such  workers. 

Higher  Spiritual  and  Intellectual  Standards 

I  have  mentioned  a  few  of  the  most  apparent  problems  in  our 
educational  work,  which  confront  us  at  the  opening  of  this  Council, 
and  to  which  we  should  most  earnestly  address  ourselves.  I  have 
now  to  call  your  attention  to  what  I  consider  the  most  serious  and  the 
most  intricate  problem,  the  one  hardest  of  solution,  and  the  one  whose 
solution  is  fundamental  to  that  of  all  other  problems, —  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  a  force  of  great  teachers  in  the  Christian  meaning  of  the  term. 

To  meet  the  demands  of  this  message  we  must  have  a  corps  of 
teachers  of  the  highest  training.  They  must  be  men  and  women  of 
vision,  strong  of  body,  sound  of  intellect,  and  exalted  in  character. 
Teaching  is  a  great  art.  It  has  a  great  history  and  a  great  mission. 
Our  Lord  took  unto  himself  the  name  of  Teacher,  and  he  did  his  work 
as  a  teacher.  He  spake  with  great  authority  because  he  was  that 
which  he  taught.  And  here  lies  the  hiding  of  the  Christian  teacher’s 
power:  He  must  be  all  he  wishes  his  pupils  to  be.  He  must  live  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ  which  he  teaches.  The  Great  Teacher  said, 
‘‘I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life;”  and  the  words  that  he  spoke 
were  spirit  and  life  and  power,  because  they  came  from  one  in  whom 
the  living  God  did  dwell. 

We  here  assembled  in  this  Council  are  leaders  of  this  teaching  force, 
and  this  standard  of  life  and  power  will  never  be  erected  in  the  hearts 
of  the  teaching  body  unless  we  as  leaders  have  it  erected  in  our  own 
hearts.  Look  at  this  a  moment!  We  are  training  our  children  and 
youth  not  simply  that  they  may  be  saved,  but  that  they  also,  under 
God,  may  be  the  saviors  of  others.  We  are  training  them  for  service; 
but  they  can  never  receive  this  education  for  service  unless  their 
teachers  have  so  much  of  the  spirit  of  service  in  themselves  that  the 
hearts  of  the  students  burn  within  them  as  they  walk  with  their 
teachers  along  the  road  of  education.  And  again,  these  teachers  will 
not  have  this  spiritual  power  unless  we  ourselves  have  it.  May  God 
anoint  us  here  in  this  Council  with  his  heavenly  eyesalve,  that  we 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


19 


may  see  clearly  the  greatness  of  this  responsibility,  and  may  he  give 
us  hearts  to  accept  it. 

We  need  teachers  of  the  highest  intellectual  attainment.  There 
has  been  a  steady  growth  in  our  standard  of  requirements  for  our 
teachers.  The  teachers  of  our  elementary  schools  are  required  to 
meet  standards  of  knowledge  and  professional  training  much  beyond 
those  of  a  few  years  ago.  Our  intermediate  schools  and  academies 
are  being  manned  very  largely'  by  those  who  hold  academic  degrees. 
Professors  and  instructors  in  our  colleges  have  been  encouraged  to 
take  postgraduate  study,  specializing  in  their  different  fields  of  work. 
A  standard  for  entrance  into  the  ministry  is  being  established;  and 
a  spirit  of  research,  critical  analysis,  and  investigation  is  being  en¬ 
couraged. 

Now  this  line  of  intellectual  advance  is  filled  with  large  possibili¬ 
ties  both  of  good  and  of  evil.  Said  the  prophet  of  old,  “Knowledge 
shall  be  increased.”  Movements  of  any  importance  today  are  world 
movements.  The  telegraph,  the  telephone,  the  wireless,  and  modes 
of  travel  have  made  the  world  one,  and  hourly  we  may  know  the  hap¬ 
penings  of  any  importance  in  all  the  world.  All  this  has  increased 
the  possibilities  of  research  and  stimulated  its  spirit.  Education  is 
made,  not  only  free,  but  practically  compulsory  throughout  all  Chris¬ 
tendom.  We  live  in  an  intellectual  age;  even  the  heathen  are  being 
awakened.  But  it  is  an  age  of  skepticism,  doubt,  and  unbelief. 
With  the  increase  of  knowledge,  men  have  lost  faith  in  the  Author 
of  all  true  knowledge.  They  have  studied  his  works,  but  have  not 
recognized  his  hand  in  them. 

The  hour  in  which  we  live  demands  a  high  standard  of  intellect 
as  no  previous  time  has  ever  demanded  it.  The  messenger  of  truth 
must  be  accurate,  logical,  and  forceful  in  the  presentation  of  his  mes¬ 
sage.  This  is  the  absolute  demand  which  this  day  makes  upon  him 
who  heralds  truth.  And  herein  lies  the  need  and  benefit  of  the  higher 
educational  standards  which  we  are  seeking.  But  herein  also  lies 
our  danger, —  danger  that  these  standards  of  intellectual  attainment 
shall  be  simply  those  required  by  the  world,  and  that  there  shall  be 
found  in  our  schools  the  wisdom  of  words  rather  than  the  words  of 
wisdom.  Let  us  not  deceive  ourselves.  We  are  in  imminent  danger 
of  an  insidious  intermingling  of  error  with  truth  in  our  teachings. 

The  effort  which  has  been  put  forth  by  our  medical  school  to  meet 
State  requirements,  has  called  for  a  corresponding  effort  on  the  part 
of  our  entire  school  system.  And  this  in  itself  is  certainly  to  be 
commended,  for  we  do  not  want  educational  standards  in  our  schools 
which  are  in  quality  and  quantity  beneath  those  which  the  world 
demands. 


20 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


But  while  we  gladly  meet  the  world’s  standards  in  quantity  and 
quality,  we  cannot  meet  them  in  kind,  for  it  is  by  the  world’s  wisdom 
and  knowledge  that  it  knows  not  God.  In  this  matter  we  contin¬ 
ually  stand  at  the  parting  of  the  ways.  We  must  have  strong  intel¬ 
lectual  standards,  but  these  standards  must  be  measured  by  the  re¬ 
quirements  of  spiritual  life  and  power,  rather  than  by  those  of  temporal 
life  and  power. 

Our  various  courses  of  study  must  be  selected  and  our  curricula 
formed  with  the  one  thought  only  of  preparing  men  and  women  for 
Christian  service.  Let  me  not  be  misunderstood  in  this  matter: 
While  we  may  have  courses  of  study  in  the  arts  and  sciences  in  name 
like  those  of  the  average  courses  of  schools  in  general,  and  while  in 
quality  and  thoroughness  of  work  we  must  be  below  none,  yet  in  the 
philosophy  underlying  the  study  and  teaching  of  these  courses  we  must 
be  absolutely  different  from  the  schools  of  the  world.  It  is  only  as 
our  teachers  have  a  vision  of  this  great  message,  and  as  the  spirit  of 
it  burns  within  their  bones  as  a  fire,  that  they  will  be  enabled  to  steer 
clear  of  the  shoals  and  tides  of  skepticism  and  the  rocks  of  unbelief. 

I  think  that  in  the  elevation  of  the  standards  of  our  work  which 
we  are  making,  and  which  we  must  still  further  make,  there  is  creep¬ 
ing  in  the  world’s  idea  of  higher  education;  and  the  young  men  and 
women  of  our  advanced  schools  are  fastening  their  eyes  upon  the 
degree  rather  than  upon  the  thing  that  the  degree  stands  for.  We 
have  had  the  plainest  instruction  for  years  from  the  servant  of  the 
Lord  concerning  this  danger. 

A  Graduate  School 

Strong  standards  of  teaching  and  scholarship  can  be  maintained 
only  when  those  who  teach  have  pursued  advanced  courses  in  the 
fields  in  which  they  teach.  In  a  general  way  we  may  say  that  the 
teacher  of  eight  grades  should  have  had  ten,  or  better  still,  twelve, 
grades  of  work;  the  teacher  in  a  twelve-grade  school  should  have  com¬ 
pleted  fourteen  grades;  and  likewise  college  teachers  eighteen  grades 
of  work  leading  to  the  master’s  degree.  It  is  this  last  step  which, 
to  my  mind,  is  presenting  a  particular  danger  and  a  problem  to  whose 
solution  we  should  address  ourselves.  To  secure  this  advanced  work 
which  our  colleges  are  rightfully  demanding,  our  young  men  and 
women  are  attending,  because  they  are  obliged  to  do  so,  the  schools 
of  the  world,  and  this  in  example  and  effect  is  deleteriously  influencing 
our  entire  school  work.  Now  we  must  make  provision  for  this 
graduate  work  to  be  done  in  our  own  schools,  that  it  may  bear  the 
stamp  of  the  message.  The  safety  of  our  whole  educational  structure 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


21 


depends  upon  having  at  the  head  of  our  college  departments  those 
who  not  only  value  and  possess  high  scholarship,  but  who  are  grounded 
and  rooted  in  the  Christian  faith, —  the  distinct  message  for  this 
hour, —  esteeming  it  dearer  than  all  else  besides. 

This  question  of  graduate  work  has  already  received  considera¬ 
tion  at  the  hands  of  some  of  our  college  faculties,  but  as  no  college  is 
in  a  situation  to  introduce  and  successfully  conduct  such  courses, 
nothing  of  consequence  has  been  accomplished.  We  should  now 
unitedly  and  unselfishly  enter  into  a  move  to  qualify  one  of  our  col¬ 
leges  to  do  in  a  most  thorough  manner  this  graduate  work. 

In  making  this  recommendation  to  the  Council,  I  wish  it  under¬ 
stood  that  I  have  no  school  in  mind  as  the  one  to  do  this  work.  I  am 
simply  emphasizing  the  fact  that  we  should  unite  in  asking  the  divi¬ 
sion  conference  to  select  and  qualify  one  of  our  colleges  to  make  ample 
provision  by  means  of  which  it  may  do  this  advanced  work. 

Keep  the  Purity  of  the  Faith 

Our  work  demands  high  standards  of  intellectual  attainment,  but 
for  the  sake  of  the  truth  of  God,  for  the  sake  of  our  dear  young  people, 
and  for  the  sake  of  a  perishing  world,  let  us  as  educational  leaders 
here  assembled  in  this  Council,  solemnly  consecrate  ourselves,  band 
ourselves  together,  pledging  to  each  other  and  to  God  that  we  will 
keep  the  purity  of  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  not  remove  the 
landmarks  of  this  message. 

In  my  address  before  our  last  educational  convention  held  at 
Berrien  Springs  in  1910,  I  quoted  these  words  from  the  spirit  of 
prophecy :  — 

“We  are  standing  upon  the  threshold  of  great  and  solemn  events. 
The  whole  earth  is  to  be  lightened  with  the  glory  of  the  Lord  as  the 
waters  cover  the  channels  of  the  great  deep.  Prophecies  are  being 
fulfilled,  and  stormy  times  are  before  us.  Old  controversies,  which 
have  apparently  been  hushed  for  a  long  time,  will  be  revived,  and 
new  controversies  will  spring  up;  new  and  old  will  commingle,  and 
this  will  take  place  right  early.  .  .  .  All  heaven  is  represented  to  me 
as  watching  the  unfolding  of  events.  .  .  .  The  only  rock  that  is  sure 
and  steadfast  is  the  Rock  of  Ages.  Those  only  who  build  on  this 
Rock  are  secure.” 

I  then  said:  “These  words  are  descriptive  of  our  times.  The 
mutterings  of  the  oncoming  storm  are  plainly  to  be  heard,  and  its 
clouds  are  darkening  the  skies.”  The  storm  of  which  we  then  heard 
but  the  mutterings,  is  now  upon  us;  the  skies  are  now  dark;  the  time 
of  trouble  has  come, — “a  time  of  trouble  such  as  never  was  since 


22  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 

there  was  a  nation.”  Practically  all  of  Christendom  is  at  war;  the 
heathen  are  awakened;  the  foundations  of  civilization  are  giving  way; 
men’s  hearts  are  failing  them  for  fear.  But  in  the  midst  of  all  this 
clamor  and  confusion  and  strife,  this  clashing  of  arms  and  the  din 
of  battles,  God  will  have  sounded  in  clear  and  certain  tones  his  word 
of  peace;  and  in  this,  the  greatest  hour  of  earth’s  darkness,  will  the 
lamp  of  faith  in  God  shine  out  the  clearest. 

To  us  and  to  our  beloved  fellow  workers  God  has  given  the  inex¬ 
pressible  privilege  of  being  the  voice  that  speaks  the  word  of  peace, 
and  of  holding  aloft  the  bright  light  of  faith  that  guides  men  to 
heaven.  Let  us  be  the  truth,  that  we  may  teach  the  truth;  for  those 
whom  we  teach  today  will  be  the  teachers  of  tomorrow.  And  to  the 
end  that  we  may  teach  them  well  and  truly,  let  us  give  greater  heed 
to  the  study  of  the  Word,  to  the  counsels  which  God  has  especially 
sent  to  us  through  his  beloved  servant,  and  to  that  whole-hearted 
consecration  which  alone  can  insure  to  us  success  in  our  holy  calling. 


THE  CALL  TO  TEACHING 

I.  H.  EVANS 

“God  hath  set  some  in  the  church,  first  apostles,  secondarily 
prophets,  thirdly  teachers,  after  that  miracles,  then  gifts  of  healings, 
helps,  governments,  diversities  of  tongues.” 

From  this  scripture  we  learn  that  teaching  is  a  gift  from  God  as 
truly  as  is  apostleship  or  prophecy.  And  those  who  have  received 
the  gift  are  responsible  to  God  for  the  use  they  make  of  it. 

There  are  many  scriptures  which  teach  that  God  gives  to  man  the 
gifts  or  talents  he  possesses.  For  example,  i  Cor.  7:  17  speaks  as 
if  God  gives  to  every  man  all  the  talents  he  has.  “As  God  hath 
distributed  to  every  man,  as  the  Lord  hath  called  every  man,  so  let 
him  walk.”  So  in  the  gifts  that  we  possess,  differing  one  from  another, 
we  are  not  superior  to  one  another,  except  it  may  be  in  the  sense  that 
we  properly  use,  according  to  the  purpose  of  God,  the  gift  that  he 
gives,  the  talent  that  we  possess.  If  we  use  it  to  the  glory  of  God, 
we  have  met  God’s  will;  if  we  in  any  other  way  use  this  talent,  we 
have  misused  the  gift  of  God,  and  consequently  the  blessing  of  the 
Lord  will  not  be  with  us  as  it  would  be  otherwise. 

So  it  is  when  a  man  has  the  gift  for  making  money;  it  is  not  a 
thing  to  be  proud  of;  it  is  a  gift  of  God,  that  must  be  used  to  the  glory 
of  God.  See  Deut.  8:  17,  18.  And  so  also  with  mechanical  skill. 
Ex.  31:  1-6.  In  all  these  matters  of  personal  talent  none  of  us  has 
anything  of  which  he  should  boast. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


23 


In  the  past,  in  Bible  times,  God  always  called  men  to  do  the  work 
that  he  wanted  done.  He  did  not  leave  it  to  men  to  select,  but  God 
himself  did  the  calling  Let  us  take  the  history  of  the  flood  as  an 
example.  God  was  about  to  destroy  the  world.  From  among  all 
the  nations  of  the  world  he  called  one  man,  Noah,  to  build  the  ark; 
and  he  gave  him  a  message,  together  with  all  the  instruction  that  was 
needed,  to  prepare  the  ark  for  the  salvation  of  his  family  and  all 
the  things  that  God  had  created. 

Four  hundred  years  later  we  find  God  calling  Abraham  out  of  a 
heathen  country,  to  be  the  forefather  of  all  the  family  of  faith. 

Another  case  of  God’s  having  a  work  to  do,  and  needing  a  man, 
and  picking  that  man  out  himself,  is  seen  in  the  case  of  Moses.  God 
had  a  care  over  this  man  from  his  birth,  in  spite  of  the  laws  of  Egypt, 
and  brought  him  through  that  slavery  and  bondage  out  into  the  wilder¬ 
ness.  Here  he  revealed  himself  to  Moses  in  the  burning  bush,  and 
said  to  him,  “Put  off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet,  for  the  place  whereon 
thou  standest  is  holy.”  In  this  interview  God  gave  Moses  his  call, 
and  Moses  never  departed  from  that  call. 

I  like  to  dwell  on  that  fact  of  the  call  of  God,  because  there  is  some¬ 
thing  in  it  that  appeals  to  me  wonderfully  —  that  God  calls  men  to  do 
a  work.  When  God  wanted  a  king  over  Israel,  he  did  not  say  to 
Israel,  There  are  many  good  men  in  Israel,  and  you  can  have  your 
choice.  No,  God  picked  out  a  man.  He  said  to  Samuel,  Take  your 
horn  of  oil,  and  go  down  to  Bethlehem,  and  find  the  man  Jesse.  He 
has  a  son  that  I  want  you  to  anoint  and  declare  him  to  be  king  in 
place  of  Saul,  who  has  rejected  the  Lord. 

When  Samuel  reached  the  place,  he  was  divinely  directed  past  all 
the  noble-looking,  mature  sons  of  Jesse  until  he  finally  poured  his  holy 
oil  upon  the  head  of  that  little  ruddy-faced  boy  David.  God  made  a 
great  king  out  of  that  man,  and  he  was  a  mighty  man  for  God  in  later 
life.  Though  he  sinned,  yet  of  him  God  said,  He  is  “a  man  after  mine 
own  heart,”  because  he  repented. 

So  God  has  chosen  men,  selected  them,  called  them  for  his  work, 
to  do  something  for  him  in  a  definite  way.  I  turn  to  Jer.  25:  8,  9,  and 
find  that  God  selected  Nebuchadnezzar  to  do  a  special  work  for  him. 
He  also  called  Cyrus  to  do  his  work.  When  the  Babylonian  kingdom 
had  finished  his  work,  and  had  gone  into  rebellion  and  defied  the  Lord, 
God  called  Cyrus,  took  him  out  of  the  hills  of  Media,  gave  his  armies 
great  victories,  and  finally  sent  him  against  Babylon.  See  Isaiah  45. 
God  called  this  man  Cyrus  when  he  was  a  heathen.  He  did  not  know 
God,  nor  anything  about  the  call,  yet  he  was  God’s  man,  chosen 
by  him.  God  did  not  call  him  because  he  was  good,  but  he  called  him 
to  do  a  definite  work,  he  called  him  to  accomplish  his  will;  and  yet, 


24 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


after  Cyrus  had  accomplished  God’s  will,  unless  he  believed  in  God  and 
had  faith  in  Christ  for  salvation,  he  would  only  be  a  cast-away,  like 
other  men.  But  at  the  time  he  was  on  the  stage  of  action,  he  was 
God’s  chosen  man  to  do  a  definite  work. 

God  called  his  prophets.  I  turn  to  Jer.  i:  i-io,  and  read  the  call 
which  came  to  Jeremiah.  That  was  certainly  a  wonderful  call  of  God. 
Before  Jeremiah  was  born,  God  ordained  and  appointed  that  he 
should  be  a  prophet. 

I  think  there  is  a  good  deal  of  importance  attached  to  believing 
that  God  has  called  one  to  his  work.  If  a  man  can  be  rooted  and 
grounded  in  that  definite  call  of  God,  there  is  nothing  but  apostasy 
that  can  ever  swing  him  away  from  the  work.  If  a  man  believes  that 
God  has  called  him  to  the  work  he  is  doing,  that  man  will  set  himself 
with  all  diligence  as  the  chosen  vessel  of  God  to  do  his  best.  He  will 
have  endurance  and  faith  under  trial.  In  proportion  as  he  believes 
that  God  has  called  him  to  do  his  work,  he  will  have  a  true  conception 
of  the  greatness  of  that  work. 

There  are  many  workers  connected  with  the  cause  of  God  today 
who  do  not  know  that  God  has  called  them  to  do  anything.  You  will 
always  find  these  people  just  as  willing  and  ready  to  shift  as  the  wind. 
They  have  no  plan,  nothing  definite,  no  mission  from  God. 

I  believe  that  God  is  calling  men  to  do  a  definite  work,  and  that 
every  Christian  ought  to  get  his  call  from  God.  When  he  has  it, 
there  is  something  in  his  soul  that  lives  through  trial  and  hardship 
and  difficulties,  that  leads  him  to  honor  God. 

I  might  read  many  instances  in  this  good  book  about  the  calling 
of  men,  but  I  must  not  take  too  much  time.  I  might  refer  to  John 
the  Baptist,  how  God  called  that  man  before  he  was  born,  at  his  birth, 
through  his  early  life,  in  his  ministry  in  a  public  way.  John  believed 
and  knew  of  a  certainty  that  God  had  called  him. 

I  might  speak  of  how  Christ  himself  gathered  a  faithful  few  whom 
he  could  trust:  he  called  his  own  men.  He  called  James  and  John, 
and  Peter  and  Andrew,  and  said  to  them,  “Come  ye  after  me,  and  I 
will  make  you  to  become  fishers  of  men.”  That  is  the  way  Christ 
gathered  his  disciples  around  him.  All  the  way  through,  Christ  was 
doing  the  selecting;  he  was  making  the  choice,  calling  the  men  and 
setting  them  to  work,  to  do  the  very  work  that  he  wanted  done. 

I  believe  it  is  the  privilege  of  every  child  of  God  to  have  a  call  from 
God  and  to  receive  from  God  a  definite  work,  that  he  may  be  settled 
and  grounded  in  the  work  that  he  believes  God  wants  him  to  do. 

We  have  met  here  this  morning  in  the  capacity  of  teachers  and 
leaders  and  trainers  of  men,  and  I  believe,  dear  friends,  that  if  the 
Holy  Ghost  puts  this  gift  of  teaching  into  the  hearts  of  some  of  God’s 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


25 


people,  those  who  accept  the  appointment  to  be  trainers  of  men  ought 
to  be  sure  that  God  has  given  them  the  gift  of  teaching  and  called 
them  to  that  work.  It  is  not  wise  for  men  to  be  drifting  and  shift¬ 
ing,  as  ready  to  do  one  thing  as  another.  I  believe  in  unity,  in  co¬ 
operation,  in  loyalty  to  our  denominational  work  and  our  organiza¬ 
tion;  but  I  still  believe  it  is  the  privilege  of  every  man  who  works  in 
the  organization  to  know  that  he  is  doing  God’s  work.  When  a  man 
knows  that,  his  work  is  a  hundred  per  cent  better  in  quality  and  quan¬ 
tity  than  if  he  believes  he  has  been  set  to  work  by  a  committee,  but 
does  not  know  whether  God  wants  him  to  do  what  he  is  doing. 

I  have  seen  men  go  to  a  mission  field,  and  when  they  got  there  it 
looked  so  gloomy  that  they  were  as  ready  to  return  as  they  were  to  go. 
They  had  no  burden  for  poor  lost  souls.  They  hated  everything 
they  saw  about  them.  They  would  not  touch  a  poor  heathen,  be¬ 
cause  he  displeased  them.  I  do  not  believe  God  ever  sent  such  men 
to  the  mission  field. 

There  are  men  in  the  .schoolroom  who  do  not  love  children,  do  not 
love  youth,  do  not  care  much  for  the  work;  but  they  accept  the  posi¬ 
tion  in  order  to  get  a  livelihood.  With  such  teachers  you  will  have  a"* 
cheap  school,  you  will  have  many  a  wrecked  life.  I  do  not  believe 
that  any  man  ought  to  go  into  the  schoolroom  to  teach  who  does  not 
know  in  his  heart  that  he  loves  the  children  and  youth  he  is  to  teach. 

A  man  cannot  have  a  call  from  God  to  teach  without  having  a 
burning  love  for  .the  young,  and  a  great,  consuming  desire  to  train 
them  for  God.  If  he  teaches  for  hire,  because  he  wants  to  get  some 
money  or  to  be  busy,  or  simply  to  engage  in  the  work,  then,  my  friends, 
he  has  not  any  great  inspiring  motive  in  his  life.  A  man  can  go  out 
on  the  street  and  shovel  dirt  for  money;  he  can  sell  his  talent  and  make 
gain  in  the  commercial  world;  but  I  do  not  believe  a  man  ought  to 
enter  the  schoolroom  and  sell  his  time  for  money  when  he  has  no  love 
in  his  heart  for  the  children  who  come  to  him  for  instruction. 

And  so  I  believe,  my  friends,  that  our  teaching  force  ought  to  con¬ 
sist  of  those  who  have  been  called  by  God  to  the  work.  A  man  ought 
to  know,  he  ought  to  be  assured,  that  God  has  called  him  to  the  school¬ 
room.  before  he  enters  there  to  teach  the  youth.  God  has  given  the 
gift  of  teaching  to  men;  it  is  a  definite  gift;  it  is  one  of  the  gifts  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  I  read  in  my  text  that  He  has  set  some  apostles,  some 
one  thing,  and  some  another,  and  some  teachers.  It  is  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  just  as  truly  as  the  gift  to  preach  the  gospel, —  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  as  truly  as  that  of  apostleship,  as  truly  as  any  gift  there 
is  in  all  the  catalogue  of  gifts.  You  and  I  ought  to  look  upon  it  with 
all  sincerity,  so  that  if  we  enter  the  schoolroom  to  be  trainers  of  men, 
we  may  go  in  there  because  God  has  called  us. 


26 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


I  believe  that  when  a  man  has  that  inspiration  in  his  life,  the  con¬ 
sciousness  that  God  has  called  him  to  his  work,  he  will  shape  and  mold 
the  lives  of  those  young  people  differently  from  what  he  would  do  if 
he  went  as  a  hireling  for  salary  or  to  make  a  livelihood  for  his  family. 

But  you  say,  “How  can  I  know  whether  I  am  called  or  not?  How 
may  I  have  the  assurance  that  I  am  called  to  teach?”  Some  say, 
“I  would  just  as  soon  be  a  preacher  or  a  business  man  as  a  teacher; 
I  would  just  as  soon  do  one  thing  as  another.  It  does  not  make  any 
difference  to  me.  How  can  I  know  what  God  has  called  me  to?” 

It  is  not  always  easy  to  know.  It  is  not  always,  my  friends,  an 
easy  thing  for  a  man  to  determine  just  exactly  what  God  wants  him 
to  do.  You  may  be  a  man  that  is  well  balanced,  and  can  succeed 
equally  well  in  many  lines,  and  you  might  be  just  as  much  inclined  to 
be  a  minister  as  a  teacher,  or  you  might  just  as  easily  be  inclined  to  en¬ 
gage  in  some  other  line  of  work  as  to  preach.  Now,  you  say  to  me, 
“How  can  I  know?” 

I  am  not  sure  that  I  can  tell  you  just  exactly  how.  I  think  it  is 
a  matter  that  needs  a  good  deal  of  prayer  and  a  good  deal  of  counsel. 
'A  man  ought  not  to  set  himself  to  a  task  in  this  great  work  without 
having  free  counsel,  a  large  amount  of  counsel,  with  his  brethren, 
to  learn  where  he  can  serve  God  best,  and  where  his  talents  can  be 
used  to  the  best  advantage.  I  have  jotted  down  a  few  things  that 
I  think  will  help  us  somewhat  to  come  to  a  right  conclusion:  — 

1.  A  man  ought  to  have  a  conviction  in  his  soul  about  what  God 
wants  him  to  do.  Yet  I  would  not  dare  trust  that  conviction  alone, 
because  I  have  known  men  who  were  determined,  and  said  they  knew 
for  a  certainty  that  God  wanted  them  to  preach,  yet  they  could  not 
preach  at  all.  So  I  do  not  dare  to  rest  only  on  conviction,  but  I  think 
that  should  be  one  element  in  helping  us  to  determine  what  God  wants 
us  to  do.  A  man  has  a  burden  on  his  heart,  morning,  noon,  and  night, 
that  God  has  work  for  him  to  do.  Nothing  gives  him  such  joy  as  to 
think  of  doing  that  work.  Everything  else  seems  as  nothing.  I  think 
such  a  conviction  ought  to  be  one  element. 

2.  A  man  ought  to  be  certain  to  some  degree  that  God  has  given 
him  ability  to  do  that  thing.  It  would  be  preposterous  for  me  to  try 
to  lead  the  choir  in  singing.  My  consciousness  of  my  inability  to  do 
that  thing  should  lead  me  never  to  undertake  it.  Why?  —  Because 
I  know  that  I  could  not  do  it.  The  man  who  leads  the  choir  must  be 
conscious  that  he  can  do  it.  Therefore,  a  man  ought  to  be  conscious 
that  God  has  given  him  the  ability  to  teach  before  he  enters  that  line 
of  work.  He  ought  to  know  that  he  can  take  a  proposition  that  is 
perhaps  a  bit  obscure,  and  make  it  clear  to  a  person  who  does  not 
understand  it. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


27 


3.  In  order  to  be  teachers,  men  ought  to  be  lovers  of  young  people. 
Not  a  sentimental  love,  nor  a  foolish  love,  nor  a  love  that  does  not 
endure,  but  what  I  mean  is,  that  a  person  ought  to  like  to  be  with 
them,  to  love  their  association,  and  love  to  see  them  growing  and  their 
lives  being  molded  and  shaped.  There  ought  to  be  a  love  for  that 
thing  that  will  give  you  satisfaction  as  you  work,  something  that  sat¬ 
isfies  the  soul.  I  think  it  is  a  great  pity  for  a  man  to  be  doing  some¬ 
thing  that  he  doesn’t  like  to  do.  I  do  not  see  how  a  man  can  do  that 
well.  But  if  a  man  likes  young  people,  if  he  really  loves  them,  loves 
to  talk  with  them  and  visit  with  them  and  help  them,  and  build  them 
up  and  set  them  in  right  channels,  it  seems  to  me  that  is  one  splendid 
reason  why  he  might  think  he  was  called  of  God  to  teach. 

4.  Then  I  think  a  man  ought  to  examine  himself  and  see  how  much 
selfishness  there  is  in  his  desires;  for  a  good  many  times  we  have  a 
burden  to  do  something  in  which  we  think  there  is  some  honor,  or 
some  glory,  or  some  profit.  I  think  we  should  examine  our  hearts 
very  carefully,  to  see  that  we  have  not  a  selfish  motive  in  what  we  are 
doing;  for  Christ  does  not  lead  us  along  selfish  lines.  He  leads  us  to 
give  ourselves  to  God  without  reserve,  as  a  living  sacrifice,  regardless 
of  rewards  of  glory  or  honor,  but  to  give  ourselves  to  that  work  because 
we  love  God.  We  ought  to  examine  our  hearts  closely,  to  see  whether 
there  is  selfishness  that  leads  us  to  take  this  work. 

5.  I  think  a  man  should  watch  carefully  for  providential  leadings; 
for  God  does  surely  lead  the  man  whom  he  calls.  He  hedges  up  his 
way.  When  a  man  starts  in  one  direction,  he  finds  a  wall  there;  and 
he  starts  in  another  direction,  and  he  finds  a  wall  there.  It  seems  as 
if  all  the  providences  in  his  life  lead  him  to  go  a  certain  way,  to  enter 
a  certain  line  of  work.  It  is  the  call  of  God.  It  is  God’s  providences 
shaping  and  fashioning  him. 

6.  Then  I  think  a  man  should  be  guided  a  good  deal  by  the  judg¬ 
ment  of  his  brethren.  I  have  seen  man}'  people  that  had  unbounded 
faith  in  their  own  judgment,  while  their  brethren  did  not  see  any  light 
at  all  in  what  they  were  doing.  But  if  a  church  that  knows  the  man, 
and  if  the  conference  and  the  brethren  that  know  the  man,  all  agree 
that  that  man  is  efficient  and  qualified  to  do  that  work,  then  it  seems 
to  me  that  with  all  these  evidences  a  man  might  safely  enter  upon  it, 
and  believe  that  he  is  called  of  God  to  do  that  kind  of  work. 

Brethren,  I  believe  our  .schools  will  be  a  blessing  in  proportion  as 
we  are  able  to  man  them  with  teachers  who  know  that  they  have  been 
called  of  God  to  train  our  young  people. 


THE  RESPONSIBILITY  OF  OUR  SCHOOLS  IN  RE¬ 
LATION  TO  MISSIONARY  ADVANCE 


I.  H.  EVANS 

The  idea  of  missionary  advance  means  the  giving  of  our  message 
to  the  heathen  world  in  territory  outside  of  this  country  and  Europe. 
When  you  think  that  there  are  a  billion  people  yet  unwarned,  and  then 
think  how  many  years  we  have  been  in  giving  the  message  to  this 
country,  with  its  relatively  small  population, —  a  Christian  country, 
with  churches  in  every  town  and  village,  Bibles  everywhere,  and  no 
man  ignorant  of  God  in  a  general  way,—  when  you  think  of  the  years 
we  have  occupied  in  trying  to  warn  this  country,  and  then  think  of 
giving  our  message  to  the  heathen  world,  it  is  almost  appalling. 

In  many  of  these  countries  there  are  difficult  languages  to  learn. 
That  is  a  more  severe  task  to  master  than  any  course  in  any  school 
in  America.  And  not  only  do  we  have  a  multitude  of  languages  to 
study  and  learn,  but  the  people  are  absolutely  ignorant  of  God,  with¬ 
out  any  knowledge  whatever  of  the  Deity.  Take  the  great  Chinese 
nation,  with  four  hundred  millions  of  people.  When  the  missionary 
first  went  there,  they  had  in  their  language  no  word  for  God.  They 
had  no  conception  of  the  Deity  whatever.  The  missionary  has  to 
go  there  and  learn  the  language,  and  then  finds  that  when  he  talks 
about  God,  the  people  do  not  know  what  he  means;  thus  a  name 
must  be  invented.  So  we  have  not  only  the  population  with  which 
to  become  thoroughly  acquainted,  but  we  have  the  difficult  task  of 
mastering  the  various  dialects  and  languages  which  these  millions  and 
millions  of  people  speak. 

Then  again  we  have  the  most  dense  ignorance  to  combat,  for  the 
great  mass  of  people  in  all  these  countries  are  untrained  and  unedu¬ 
cated.  It  is  said  that  there  is  not  one  woman  in  forty  thousand  in 
China  who  can  read  and  write  her  own  name. 

So  we  have  to  take  these  people  in  their  ignorance,  without  any 
knowledge  of  religion,  with  no  conception  of  God  or  what  worship 
toward  God  means,  and  train  and  educate  them  to  believe  in  God, 
to  believe  his  Word,  and  to  know  how  to  worship  such  a  God.  It 
taxes  the  skill  of  the  very  best  men.  They  have  sent  the  best-trained 
men  from  our  colleges  and  universities  in  America  for  a  half  century 
to  the  East,  and  still  the  great  mass  of  the  people  are  untouched  with 
Christianity. 

Yet  the  way  is  being  made  favorable  for  the  entrance  of  the  mis¬ 
sionary.  All  the  barriers  blocking  the  way  of  progress  and  growth, 
as  far  as  the  native  is  concerned,  are  practically  broken  down,  and 
28 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


29 


the  whole  heathen  world  is  crying  to  Christians  today,  “Come  over 
and  help  us.  You  have  the  light,  and  we  want  it;  you  have  knowledge, 
and  we  want  you  to  teach  us.”  There  is  not  a  nation  in  the  heathen 
world  today  but  will  welcome  the  Christian  teacher.  You  can  go 
into  every  town  and  hamlet  in  China,  Japan,  Korea,  and  Manchuria, 
and  preach  the  third  angel’s  message  with  less  difficulty  and  objec¬ 
tion  than  in  Chicago  or  New  York.  So  far  as  opportunities  are 
concerned,  so  far  as  the  demands  and  the  Macedonian  cry  are  con¬ 
cerned,  everything  is  favorable  for  the  missionary  to  enter  and  preach 
the  kingdom  of  God  and  win  souls  to  Christ. 

The  Purpose  of  Our  Schools 

Now  what  is  the  object,  or  purpose,  of  our  denominational  schools 
toward  this  great  end?  What  is  the  ideal  that  should  be  impressed 
upon  our  young  men  and  women?  First,  of  course,  we  must  educate 
and  train  all  who  come  to  us.  I  do  not  believe  that  every  boy  or 
girl  who  comes  to  a  school  is  fitted  or  ever  could  be  fitted  to  go  into  the 
foreign  mission  field.  There  are  many  who  are  not  qualified  to  go 
into  a  mission  field.  It  may  be  something  in  their  mental  make-up, 
or  in  their  personality,  or  in  their  physical  being,  that  in  some  way 
disqualifies  them  for  this  personal  work  that  has  to  be  done  in  these 
heathen  lands.  But  I  do  believe  that  every  boy  and  girl  who  comes 
to  our  schools  should  be  trained  for  God  and  for  heaven. 

A  man  is  not  better  because  he  is  qualified  to  go  to  a  mission  field, 
than  if  he  were  one  adapted  for  the  home  field.  I  believe  the  one 
great  object  of  our  schools  should  be  to  educate  our  young  people 
and  train  them  for  life  work,  train  them  to  live  in  society,  to  live  in 
this  present  evil  world  a  Christian  life  and  win  men  to  Christ. 

But  I  think  the  second  purpose  of  our  schools  should  be  to  train 
workers  for  God  with  a  definite  consciousness  all  the  time  that  we 
are  putting  them  through  their  class  work  that  they  may  be  fitted 
to  go  out  into  any  part  of  the  great  world  and  preach  the  gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ,  to  teach,  or  do  other  necessary  work  for  which  their 
training  qualifies  them.  I  believe  that  when  a  young  man  or  a  young 
woman  comes  to  a  college  or  to  one  of  our  training  schools,  we  ought 
to  have  a  faculty  in  that  school  that  is  capable  of  entering  into  the 
life  of  that  individual  and  sizing  him  up,  and  of  deciding  what  he 
is  best  adapted  for. 

Now  I  know  that  some  people  do  not  believe  that  doctrine,  but 
if  I  were  to  say  to  you,  “Here  is  a  horse,  here  is  a  Dan  Patch 
horse,  such  as  I  saw  down  here  in  the  fair  the  other  day;  I  want 
you  to  take  this  horse  and  use  him,”  for  what  purpose  would  you  use 


30 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


him?  Surely  not  on  your  truck  hauling  logs  to  the  sawmill.  You 
would  have  too  much  sense  for  that.  You  would  say,  “This  horse  is 
good  for  only  one  thing,  the  race  track.”  You  would  never  think  of 
using  him  as  a  draft  horse.  You  would  not  hitch  a  fine  thoroughbred 
to  a  big  truck.  Yet,  my  friends,  oftentimes  we  do  not  form  any 
opinion  at  all  of  what  a  young  man  can  do.  We  look  at  a  horse,  and 
we  can  tell  what  he  is  good  for, —  he  is  for  the  race  track,  for  the  road, 
a  draft  horse,  or  for  the  plow.  But  boys,  we  say,  are  all  alike;  we 
put  them  into  the  regular  grind,  and  that  is  all  we  think  about  it. 
Tf  men  can  use  so  much  keenness  and  sharpness  in  regard  to  animals, 
why  should  they  not  be  keen  and  sharp  in  appraising  human  nature? 
When  a  boy  comes  to  them  for  a  training,  why  not  give  him  a  training 
for  something  definite  in  God’s  work,  and  inspire  him  with  the  idea 
that  he  can  and  must  do  something,  that  God  has  called  him  to  do 
something  definite  for  him  in  this  great  work? 

I  believe  that  our  schools  are  also  to  change  the  purposes  and  ideals 
of  the  young  people  who  come  to  them  for  training.  Most  of  our 
boys  and  girls  do  not  have  very  great  ambitions.  I  remember  that 
one  of  the  best-trained  men  in  our  denomination  told  me  last  winter 
that  the  only  idea  he  ever  had  in  his  younger  days  was  to  teach  a 
country  school.  He  thought  if  he  could  ever  be  qualified  to  teach  a 
country  school,  that  was  all  he  would  ever  want  to  do. 

Boys  must  have  their  ideals  changed.  This  lad  went  to  college, 
his  mind  began  to  expand,  and  one  idea  after  another  came  to  him, 
and  by  and  by  he  became  one  of  the  very  best-educated  men  that 
we  have  today  in  the  denomination. 

Thousands  of  our  children  have  their  ideals  raised  by  coming  to 
our  schools.  That  is  what  the  school  is  for.  The  ideal  place  to  mould 
and  shape  character  is  in  the  home,  but  now  we  are  carrying  our 
boys  and  girls  out  of  their  homes,  and  putting  them  in  training  schools, 
and  we  are  fencing  the  grounds  so  high  that  Adventists  cannot  get 
in  there  with  their  families.  You  say,  We  do  not  want  the  families, 
we  want  the  boys  just  by  themselves;  we  do  not  want  the  fathers 
and  mothers.  I  hold  that  if  that  be  the  policy,  our  schools  must  be 
manned  with  men  who  know  human  nature,  and  who  love  these  boys 
and  girls.  They  must  set  themselves  to  the  purpose  of  training  them 
and  making  them  more  efficient  than  they  could  be  made  by  attending 
other  schools  or  by  remaining  under  their  home  influences. 

But  raising  the  ideals  can  never  be  done  in  the  classroom  alone. 
It  never  can  be  accomplished  when  you  group  boys  and  girls  together 
and  simply  hear  their  recitations.  There  must  be  the  personal  touch. 
You  must  sit  down  with  the  boy,  look  him  in  the  face,  and  put  the 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


31 


question  to  him,  "Young  man,  what  are  you  going  to  do  when  you 
get  through  with  this  school?  What  is  your  purpose  and  ambition 
in  life?”  Multitudes  of  boys  have  had  their  ideals  changed  by  the 
friendly  teacher  who  has  opened  their  vision  and  stretched  out  the 
horizon  and  given  them  an  idea  that  they  never  had  before, —  that 
they  can  really  do  something  in  this  work. 

So  I  believe  that  when  our  children  come  to  these  schools,  the 
teachers  are  under  obligation  to  form  high  ideals  for  them,  to  enter 
into  their  lives  and  set  before  them  patterns,  and  to  inspire  them 
with  the  confidence  that  they  can  do  something. 

I  remember  the  teacher  who  had  a  greater  influence  on  me  than 
any  other  man  who  ever  came  into  my  life.  That  man  helped  me, 
made  me  believe  that  I  could  do  something,  and  although  he  was  not 
a  Christian,  I  have  always  held  him  in  grateful  memory,  because  he 
gave  me  a  desire  to  do  something  that  I  would  not  have  desired  to 
do  had  I  not  come  under  his  influence. 

I  believe  that  our  schools  should  provide  for  the  training  of  the 
spiritual  faculties  of  the  student.  There  is  nothing  that  a  young  man 
needs  who  is  going  out  into  the  great  darkened,  heathen  lands,  more 
than  to  have  his  spiritual  faculties  trained  under  God-fearing,  con¬ 
scientious  men. 

Sometimes  we  say  it  will  never  do  to  take  a  boy  from  college  and 
send  him  to  the  mission  field;  that  he  should  be  put  out  into  the  home 
field,  and  allowed  to  work  out  an  experience.  But  I  believe  that  our 
schools  should  so  train  the  young  men  that  when  they  come  out  of 
college,  having  been  there  from  four  to  ten  years,  they  will  have  such 
a  spiritual  experience  that  it  can  never  be  wrested  from  them;  but 
this  can  never  be  until  our  teachers  are  spiritual  giants,  men  of  faith, 
men  of  prayer,  men  who  have  met  God  and  prevailed  with  him. 

I  tell  you,  there  is  no  greater  blessing  that  can  come  into  the  ex¬ 
perience  of  a  young  man  than  to  be  trained  by  some  one  who  knows 
God.  He  will  never  forget  it.  In  the  darkest  hours,  in  the  hours 
of  greatest  trial,  he  will  grasp  the  arm  of  God.  Why,  my  friends, 
that  young  man  can  never  get  away  from  that  experience. 

The  men  and  women  in  our  schools  need  a  higher  spiritual  train¬ 
ing.  We  need  as  teachers  those  who  know  God,  who  believe  his  Word, 
and  who  have  tried  God  out,  as  it  were,  so  that  when  they  speak 
they  speak  with  authority.  Young  men  will  sit  at  the  feet  of  such 
men  and  listen,  and  their  whole  life  will  be  shaped  and  moulded  and 
fashioned  by  the  inspiration  and  the  lessons  that  are  given  by  such 
teachers. 

I  think  our  schools  should  train  not  only  in  the  line  of  books,  so 
that  when  a  young  man  comes  out  of  college  he  gets  his  degree  (I 


32 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


do  not  oppose  that  at  all,  I  am  in  favor  of  giving  degrees;  but  we 
shall  make  a  great  mistake  if  we  think  that  because  a  man  has  a 
degree  he  is  qualified  to  do  good  work.  The  degree  is  not  a  passport 
to  success);  but  in  the  line  of  enlargement  of  vision;  the  student 
must  know  how  to  deal  with  men  before  he  can  be  a  leader. 

Leaders  Needed 

We  must  have  leaders,  my  friends,  in  these  great  needy  mission 
fields.  You  can  go  into  almost  any  of  these  countries,  and  bring 
thousands  of  people  into  the  truth,  yet  among  the  thousands  you  will 
not  find  one  leader.  You  may  go  into  the  Far  East,  and  out  of  that 
eight  hundred  million  people  from  India  to  Korea  you  will  find 
scarcely  a  leader  among  them.  Leaders  must  be  trained  in  this  coun¬ 
try  and  sent  to  those  fields,  men  who  will  set  the  pace  to  guide  and 
shape  and  mold  and  fashion. 

Where  shall  these  leaders  get  their  training?  Oh,  we  will  educate 
them  in  our  colleges,  and  then  train  them  in  the  field  in  this  country. 
But  when  they  come  out  of  college  at  from  twenty-three  to  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age,  they  do  not  like  to  spend  another  three  or  four 
years  in  some  conference,  trying  to  work  out  an  experience.  I  believe 
that  the  school  should  help  to  give  the’  young  men  an  experience. 
You  should  have  leaders  in  the  schools  that  have  had  experience,  who 
can  take  these  young  men,  and  talk  with  them  heart  to  heart,  and 
set  before  them  in  detail  the  duties  of  leadership.  Then  give  them 
work,  guide  them  and  direct  them  in  the  performance  of  these  tasks, 
and  show  them  how  they  can  do  better  what  they  are  doing.  These 
are  the  kind  of  men  that  we  must  send  to  the  foreign  fields. 

We  cannot  take  a  man  out  of  school  because  he  is  a  graduate, 
and  send  him  abroad.  He  must  be  trained  as  a  leader  before  he  can 
go  into  these  countries  and  head  these  mission  fields,  where  there  are 
a  hundred  million  people  in  one  small  territory.  We  must  have  teach¬ 
ers  from  our  colleges  to  go  into  these  countries,  not  only  evangelists 
and  leaders,  but  real  teachers.  We  do  not  want  teachers  who  can 
simply  teach  a  lesson  in  mathematics  or  language  or  some  of  the  sci¬ 
ences;  we  want  teachers  who  will  be  trainers  of  men,  who  can  take  a 
class  of  Chinese  boys  and  train  them  for  the  work,  or  who  can  go 
into  that  Korean  school,  where  there  will  be  a  hundred  as  bright 
and  sharp  minds  as  you  can  think  of,  and  train  those  boys  to  be 
workers  in  that  country. 

Today  we  have  a  call  for  a  teacher  in  Korea,  where  there  are  a  hun¬ 
dred  young  men  and  women.  We  have  received  petition  after  peti¬ 
tion  to  send  a  teacher  to  take  charge  of  their  training  school;  but  we 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


33 

dare  not  send  even  a  man  who  can  run  an  academy  here,  we  must 
have  some  one  that  can  train  workers,  a  man  who  can  be  a  father, 
and  more  than  a  father,  to  those  boys.  He  must  teach  them  the  way 
to  be  Christians,  and  not  only  to  be  Christians,  but  to  go  out  and 
preach  the  gospel.  The  man  who  goes  to  Korea  to  take  charge  of 
that  training  school  must  be  able  to  train  teachers,  colporteurs,  and 
evangelists.  He  must  be  able  to  make  men  out  of  those  boys. 

So  I  say  that  our  schools  here  should  continually  be  searching  out 
and  taking  note  of  the  lives  of  the  boys  who  are  sent  to  them  for 
training,  so  that  when  the  Mission  Board  needs  a  man  for  China,  or 
India,  or  Japan,  or  some  important  school  work,  they  can  say,  “Here 
is  a  man  we  know  will  fill  the  place,  by  the  grace  of  God.”  That  is 
what  our  schools  are  for.  They  are  not  simply  to  say,  “We  have  put 
them  through  the  grind,  and  we  have  graduated  twenty  or  thirty.’’ 
Every  teacher  should  know  just  what  every  boy  and  girl  is  good  for, 
who  goes  through  school.  If  you  were  dealing  with  horses,  you  would 
know  all  about  each  one,  whether  it  was  a  runner  or  a  trotter  or  a 
draft  horse.  Why  can  we  not  understand  each  other,  and  train  our 
boys  and  girls  for  something  definite  in  this  work?  We  must  enlarge 
the  vision  of  these  boys.  We  must  give  them  a  wider  range.  They 
must  be  able  to  look  out  upon  life  with  a  broader  view,  and  with 
a  consciousness  that  they  are  responsible  for  doing  something  definite 
for  God. 

I  should  like  to  say  a  word  further, —  that  we  must  look  out  for 
the  spiritual  life  of  our  boys.  Many,  a  boy  comes  into  school  and 
loses  out  spiritually.  I  have  seen  hundreds  of  them.  Brethren,  it 
is  a  great  pity.  I  do  not  say  that  the  school  can  hold  every  boy,  but 
I  do  believe  that  the  purpose  of  every  school  should  be  to  hold  these 
young  men  solid  in  their  faith  in  God.  We  should  train  them  in  the 
message  so  that  when  they  come  out  of  the  school,  from  the  soles  of 
their  feet  to  the  crown  of  their  head  they  are  Seventh -day  Adventists, 
and  believe  every  principle  of  this  message,  and  will  stand  for  it 
wherever  you  may  send  them  to  work  for  God. 


“Thou  must  to  thine  own  self  be  true, 
If  thou  the  truth  wouldst  teach; 

Thy  soul  must  overflow, 

If  thou  a  soul  wouldst  reach. 

It  takes  the  heart’s  overflow 
To  give  the  lips  full  speech.' ’ 


THE  QUESTION  OF  TEACHER  EFFICIENCY 


FREDERICK  GRIGGS 

There  is  a  very  old  saying  that  teachers  are  born,  not  made, 
and  Holy  Writ  bears  out  the  truth  of  this  adage,  for  to  some  is  given 
the  gift  of  teaching;  but  the  gift  of  heaven  in  the  art  of  teaching  is 
to  be  treated  the  same  as  all  of  heaven’s  gifts.  It  is  to  be  traded 
upon,  and  the  gift  or  talent,  be  it  in  measure  of  one  or  ten,  is  to  be 
continually  increased. 

The  responsibility  of  the  teacher  to  improve  his  natural  aptitude 
is  the  foundation  upon  which  is  built  a  strong  pedagogical  structure. 
The  teacher  who  feels  that  he  is  held  accountable  by  God  and  men  to 
develop  to  the  very  highest  the  measure  of  talent  given  him  in  the 
art  of  instructing,  is  he  who  grows  in  his  profession,  and  growth  is 
the  law  of  life. 

I  believe  I  can  say,  without  successful  contradiction,  that  there  is 
no  teaching  force  today  more  conscientious  in  their  work,  or  that 
have  a  greater  realization  of  the  responsibilities  of  their  calling,  than 
have  the  teachers  in  our  schools  of  all  grades.  Of  course,  in  saying 
this  I  speak  in  a  general  sense. 

In  mechanics  the  efficiency  of  the  machine  is  spoken  of  as  the  ratio 
of  useful  work  resultant  to  the  total  energy  expended  in  operating  the 
machine.  There  is  in  all  machines  a  loss  of  energy  —  waste,  and  it 
is  the  problem  of  the  machinist  to  make  this  waste  as  small  as  possible. 
Thus  the  efficiency  of  a  machine  is  measured  by  the  ratio  between  the 
energy  expended  and  the  useful  work  performed. 

The  law  of  efficiency  in  mechanics  is  not  far  removed  from  the  law 
of  efficiency  in  teaching  or  in  any  other  work.  A  machine  will  give  an 
equal  number  of  units  of  work  with  that  which  it  receives  or  generates, 
less  the  number  lost  in  resistance.  It  is  the  work  of  the  machinist 
to  remove  or  overcome  these  elements  of  resistance.  If  this  could 
be  fully  accomplished,  we  could  easily  have  perpetual  motion. 

Obstacles 

Now  correspondingly,  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  teacher  or 
of  a  whole  teaching  force,  we  must  remove  the  resistances  which  are 
met  in  their  work.  These  resistances  are  of  three  kinds:  those  in  the 
teacher  himself,  those  in  the  pupil,  and  those  in  the  system  which  he 
is  employing  or  under  which  he  is  working.  Some  of  the  chief  resist¬ 
ances  in  the  teacher  are:  the  spirit  of  indolence,  lack  of  physical 

power,  insufficient  educational  qualifications,  and  lack  of  love  for  his 
34 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


35 


work.  Among  the  elements  of  resistance  in  the  pupil  are:  lack  of 
natural  interest  in  the  subject  taught,  physical  defects,  and  improper 
home  environment.  Among  the  resistances  extraneous  to  the  teacher 
and  his  pupils  may  be  mentioned:  the  physical  conditions  under  which 
teacher  and  pupil  work, —  lack  of  sufficient  ventilation,  imperfect 
light,  insufficient  blackboard,  improper  .seating,  unsanitary  and  slov¬ 
enly  conditions  in  and  about  the  school  buildings;  the  want  of  proper 
texts,  maps,  globes,  library  and  laboratory  facilities;  lack  of  provision 
for  manumental  work;  imperfect  supervision;  and  lack  of  cooperation 
between  parents  and  teachers. 

The  teacher  bent  on  increasing  his  efficiency  will  regularly  examine 
his  educational  machine,  carefully  catalogue  the  resistances  which  he 
discovers  therein,  and  then  proceed  in  the  most  deliberate,  deter¬ 
mined  way  either  to  remove  or  to  overcome  these  resistances. 

Now  I  mean  this  suggestion  to  be  taken  in  a  literal  sense.  It  is 
a  most  excellent  thing  for  an  educator  to  write  an  inventory  of  these 
various  resistances  which  he  is  meeting  in  his  work,  both  from  within 
and  from  without,  and  after  making  a  careful  study  of  the  list,  which 
will  generally  be  found  to  be  a  very  formidable  one,  set  over  against 
each  item  a  suggestion  as  to  how  it  may  be  eradicated ;  then,  one  by 
one,  in  the  most  deliberate  manner,  set  about  the  elimination  of  these 
resistances.  This  is  one  way  in  which  the  teacher  may  trade  upon 
the  talent  given  him  of  heaven. 

One  thing  which  appears  to  me  to  hinder  the  efficiency  of  our  teach¬ 
ing  force  as  a  whole,  is  the  lack  of  appreciation,  on  the  part  of  our 
best-educated  young  men  and  women  coming  from  our  schools,  of  the 
importance  of  the  educational  work  of  our  elementary  schools  and  the 
value  to  their  future  teaching  of  an  experience  in  them.  I  do  not 
wish  to  convey  the  idea  by  this  that  all  who  teach  are  equally  compe¬ 
tent  in  elementary  work,  but  I  do  wish  to  make  it  clear  that  the  teach¬ 
ing  in  our  colleges  would  be  stronger,  and  in  our  elementary  schools 
not  appreciably  weaker,  and  perhaps  it  would  be  stronger,  if  the 
graduates  from  our  colleges  who  are  looking  toward  teaching  in  our 
advanced  schools,  should  arrive  at  their  final  post  through  a  system 
of  promotion.  The  efficiency  of  our  whole  educational  work  cannot 
but  be  weakened  by  taking  our  college  graduates,  in  many  instances 
those  who  have  had  no  work  in  pedagogical  lines  in  their  college 
curriculum,  and  have  had  little  or  no  previous  teaching  experience, 
and  placing  them  in  the  department  work  of  our  colleges. 

We  should  give  heed  to  the  development  of  a  system  of  promotion 
for  our  teachers  both  as  to  grade  of  work  and  salary.  This  is  for  the 
advantage  of  the  teacher  as  well  as  of  our  work  as  a  unit.  Given 


36 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


thorough  preparation, —  the  broad  foundation  study,  and  the  study 
of  the  special  courses  to  be  taught,  together  with  a  broad  foundation 
in  general  teaching,  which  has  progressed  in  the  special  department 
work, —  and  the  result  will  be  a  strong  teaching  force  in  our  ad¬ 
vanced  schools,  a  force  which  will  vitalize  all  phases  of  our  school 
work. 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  noted  that  pedagogical  studies  are 
important  for  the  teacher  in  the  college  as  well  as  in  the  primary 
school.  Unpedagogical  work  in  college  teaching  is  reflected  in  all 
grades  of  our  schools.  Our  courses  should  be  so  arranged  that  the 
student  may  pursue  the  complete  normal  course,  receiving  full  credit 
therefor  on  his  degree  course. 

I  cannot  omit  saying  in  this  connection  that  while  much  progress 
has  been  made  in  lifting  higher  the  standard  of  work  in  our  elementary 
schools,  both  in  requirements  from  the  teacher  and  in  remuneration 
financially  and  otherwise  to  him,  there  yet  remains  much  to  be  done 
to  place  the  teaching  in  this  most  important  class  of  schools  upon  a 
more  permanent  and  enduring  basis.  The  remuneration  and  general 
conditions  of  the  elementary  teacher  should  be  such  as  to  make  it 
desirable  and  enjoyable  to  him  to  remain  in  this  line  of  work  as  long 
as  his  services  may  be  demanded. 

Lack  of  continuity  in  service  is  one  of  the  greatest  resistances 
which  we  are  meeting  today  in  the  efficiency  of  our  whole  school  or¬ 
ganization,  and  upon  this  point  the  Council  should  express  itself  in 
no  uncertain  terms,  and  seek  most  determinedly  for  a  revolution  in 
this  matter. 

Another  resistance  which  our  organization  as  a  whole  is  meeting 
is  lack  of  proper  field  supervision.  We  cannot  develop  the  efficiency 
of  our  teaching  force  as  a  whole  until  greater  care  is  given  to  the  se¬ 
lection  of  our  superintendents,  as  to  their  fitness  in  experience  and 
education,  and  until  provision  shall  be  made  for  them  to  devote 
sufficient  time  to  their  work  of  supervision. 

Another  general  hindrance  to  efficiency  has  been  in  the  fact  that 
educators  have  not  looked  at  the  importance  of  results  as  they  should. 
To  illustrate  what  I  mean:  Some  fifteen  years  ago,  in  one  of  the  meet¬ 
ings  of  the  Department  of  Superintendence  of  the  National  Educa¬ 
tional  Association,  one  of  the  members  presented  an  array  of  sta¬ 
tistics  which  he  had  compiled  from  the  schools  over  which  he  had 
supervision,  to  show  that  there  was  a*  great  waste  of  energy  in  the 
methods  used  in  teaching  spelling,  for  the  children  did  not  learn  to 
spell.  He  was  almost  hooted  down  by  his  fellow  members,  who 
declared  that  such  material  results,  as  such,  were  not  the  greatest 
goal  of  teaching,  but  that  mental  ability  in  the  development  of  mem- 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


37 


ory,  powers  of  concentration,  formation  of  habit,  which  the  pupil 
would  acquire  in  his  study  of  spelling,  were,  after  all,  more  important 
for  his  life  work  than  that  he  should  learn  to  spell.  Yet  in  a  little 
over  a  decade  this  same  Department  of  Superintendence  gave  the 
most  careful  attention  to  this  very  question  of  teaching  spelling, 
looking  to  the  results  in  the  way  of  the  pupil’s  learning  to  spell  first, 
and  regarding  the  questions  of  the  development  of  concentration, 
habit,  memory,  etc.,  as  incidental. 

Results 

In  the  great  movement  for  efficiency  in  manufacturing  enterprises 
there  is  a  steady  effort  put  forth  to  enable  the  men  to  accomplish 
the  same  amount  of  work  with  fewer  movements  of  the  hand  or  body. 
To  this  end  in  some  establishments  moving  pictures  are  taken  of  the 
men  at  work,  and  the  number  of  movements  they  make  in  performing 
a  certain  amount  of  work  is  definitely  recorded;  and  then  every  effort 
is  made  to  save  a  waste  motion,  to  have  the  men  perform  the  same 
amount  of  work  with  the  expenditure  of  less  energy.  A  brick  mason 
may  make  a  dozen  motions  in  laying  a  brick  where  half  that  number 
might  accomplish  the  same  work  if  his  bricks  are  properly  placed  on 
the  scaffold,  his  mortar  properly  mixed,  and  his  mind  on  his  work. 
Germany,  holding  all  her  neighbors  at  bay,  is  giving  the  world  an 
example  of  the  value  of  efficiency  in  large  affairs.  Every  piece  of 
mechanism  throughout  the  empire,  from  the  railroad  to  a  shovel,  every 
man,  woman,  and  child,  seems  to  be  but  a  part  of  a  great  fighting 
machine  who.se  motto  is  the  highest  efficiency  and  the  lowest  waste. 

In  accordance  with  the  great  laws  of  efficiency  operating  in  suc¬ 
cessful  manufacture,  results  should  be  sought  in  the  schoolroom  from 
the  daily  program  and  the  class  recitation  to  the  janitor’s  work. 
There  should  be  a  steady  purpose  to  accomplish  the  same  amount 
of  work  with  half  the  effort;  to  make  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where 
one  grew  before;  to  implant  two  ideas  in  the  same  length  of  time  and 
with  the  same  amount  of  effort  required  to  plant  one  before.  This  is 
the  ideal  which  must  be  held  by  our  educational  organization  as  a 
whole  and  our  teachers  as  individuals. 

The  end  of  classroom  education  is  straight  thinking;  and  every 
individual  thinks  best  when  he  thinks  intensely  and  under  pressure. 
It  is  true  that  character,  the  ultimate  end  of  all  teaching,  cannot  be 
measured  in  terms  of  scholastic  units;  and  yet  it  is  to  be  observed 
that  the  teacher  who  is  best  informed  and  most  thorough  in  his  work; 
who  is  accurate,  progressive,  inspiring;  who  gets  the  most  units  of 
results  from  the  least  units  of  energy  expended,  is  the  one,  after  all, 


38 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


who  has  the  greatest  influence  on  the  character  and  lives  of  his 
students. 

There  is  need  for  an  efficiency  program  to  be  entered  upon,  run¬ 
ning  all  the  way  from  the  teacher  of  the  little  country  church  school 
through  our  local,  union,  division,  and  General  Conference  organi¬ 
zations,  up  to  the  strongest  college  we  conduct. 

In  conclusion  I  wish  to  direct  your  attention  to  that  greatest  of 
all  hindrances, —  a  lack  of  love  for  the  work  in  which  we  are  engaged. 
Love  finds  the  way.  The  feet  of  love  run  most  swiftly,  and  its  hands 
perform  most  skillfully.  It  is  this,  the  greatest  of  all  forces, —  a  force 
that  vitalizes  all  other  forces, —  that  alone  can  make  the  teacher 
most  efficient.  We  need  the  spirit  of  Froebel,  Pestalozzi,  Thomas 
Arnold  of  Rugby,  and  above  all  —  far  above  all  —  the  spirit  of  the 
greatest  Teacher  of  all  ages.  This  spirit  of  love  can  be  cultivated. 
Our  pupils  are  worthy  of  it.  The  teachers  in  our  elementary  schools 
need  it,  and  the  teachers  in  our  colleges  need  it. 

We  need  to  see  developed  among  us  a  system  of  intermediate 
schools  manned  by  men  and  women  whose  hearts  God  has  touched 
with  a  love  for  the  child  in  the  adolescent  age.  Altogether  too  much 
do  we  look  beyond  the  elementary  and  intermediate  school  to  our 
academies  and  colleges  as  the  field  of  our  highest  educational  possi¬ 
bilities  and  undertakings.  We  need  to  develop  on  a  much  stronger 
basis  our  ten-grade  schools,  where  may  be  placed  in  well-regulated 
dormitories  our  growing  boys  and  girls  —  boys  and  girls  who  need 
a  very  careful  training.  We  can  develop  these  schools  only  by  hav¬ 
ing  a  force  of  teachers  who  are  glad  to  devote  their  lives  to  the  work 
of  saving  these  adolescent  youth.  These  teachers  must  be  men  and 
women  whose  hearts  God  has  touched  with  a  love  for  the  restless 
youth,  and  who  have  given  to  them  by  the  school  management  suffi¬ 
cient  time  in  which  to  perform  this  important  teacher-parent  work. 
This  class  of  schools,  rightly  conducted,  will  save  thousands  of  our 
young  people. 

In  a  word,  the  efficiency  of  the  individual  and  of  our  force  as  a 
whole  is  increased  as  we  eliminate  all  items  of  resistance  and  strengthen 
those  of  production.  A  love  for  our  work  is  of  chief  importance  in 
giving  us  a  clear  vision  of  our  own  needs.  Our  pupils  are  not  bone  of 
our  bone  and  flesh  of  our  flesh,  but  they  are  mind  of  our  mind  and 
heart  of  our  heart. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


39 


DISCUSSION 

W.  E.  Howell:  Elder  Evans  in  his  stirring  talk  anticipated  to 
some  degree  the  theme  on  which  my  mind  was  drawn  out  on  this 
question  of  teacher  efficiency.  I  am  strongly  in  favor  of  one  feature 
of  teacher  efficiency  on  which  he  touched  effectively,  and  that  is 
the  demand  for  properly  fathering  and  mothering  the  young  people 
who  come  to  our  schools.  I  am  speaking  now  principally  about  the 
college. 

The  school  had  its  origin  in  the  need  of  the  home,  and  if  we  could 
name  it  with  one  proper  term,  we  might  call  it  the  home  annex. 
If  all  our  homes  were  what  they  ought  to  be,  we  should  have  far  less 
need  of  so  many  schools  and  so  much  school  work.  ’  We  might  be 
able  to  start  in  with  the  tenth  or  eleventh  grade,  and  concentrate 
our  efforts  on  the  higher  training  which  could  not  well  be  given  in 
the  home  for  lack  of  equipment  and  other  public  opportunities. 

Recognizing  the  fact  that  the  school  is  intended  to  take  up  the 
work  of  the  home  and  carry  it  forward,  I  want  to  emphasize  the  im¬ 
portance  of  our  carrying  the  parent  element  into  the  school  to  as  large 
a  degree  as  we  can.  That  is  especially  important  in  our  work  in  con¬ 
sideration  of  the  fact  that  so  large  a  proportion  of  our  students  are  in 
boarding  schools.  Our  constituency  is  scattered,  and  it  is  necessary 
for  j^s  to  take  young  men  and  women  away  from  their  homes  earlier 
and  to  a  greater  degree  than  do  many  other  schools. 

The  thing  that  impresses  my  heart  on  this  question  is  the  number 
of  boys  and  girls  who  have  gone  astray,  made  a  failure  of  their  school 
work  and  a  failure  of  life,  perhaps  for  lack  of  the  one  little  fatherly 
touch  that  might  have  been  given  when  they  were  away  at  school. 
We  call  the  man  or  the  woman,  or  both,  whom  we  put  over  our  stu¬ 
dents,  preceptor  or  preceptress.  It  is  rather  a  formal  term,  and  we 
feel  sometimes  that  it  is  a  little  chilly,  but  what  we  need  is  a  pre¬ 
ceptor  and  a  preceptress  in  whose  work  we  can  see  the  true  father- 
and-mother  interest  in  the  work  of  the  boys  and  girls. 

The  first  thing  I  wish  to  emphasize  is  that  a  teacher  sense  keenly 
his  responsibilities  from  the  viewpoint  of  taking  the  work  from  the 
hands  of  the  parent,  and  becoming  to  this  boy  and  this  girl  both 
parent  and  teacher.  Now  the  preceptor  or  preceptress,  or  the  teacher 
who  is  himself  a  parent,  has  the  natural  advantage  in  his  work  of 
knowing  by  experience  what  it  is  to  father  and  mother  a  boy  or  girl. 
This  is  not  the  only  qualification,  by  any  means.  We  sometimes 
see  those  who  -are  not  parents,  but  who  so  love  their  work,  and  who 
have  so  studied  its  interests  and  have  so  devoted  themselves  to  boys 
and  girls,  that  their  work  is  very  superior  to  that  of  some  who  are 


40 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


natural  fathers  and  mothers.  But  the  father-and-mother  elements 
must  be  in  our  schools  if  we  would  save  our  students. 

The  first  thing  a  teacher  ought  to  do,  whether  he  is  a  preceptor 
or  not,  is  to  become  acquainted  with  the  young  men  and  women  who 
are  placed  under  his  instruction.  Study  the  students.  Until  we  do 
that,  we  cannot  touch  them  in  the  right  place.  Think  of  it;  a  young 
man  has  grown  up  to  sixteen  or  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  then  enters 
school  and  comes  under  our  care.  We  know  not  anything  about  his 
past  life,  about  his  environment,  or  what  his  inside  thoughts  are, 
what  his  feelings  and  aspirations  are.  It  is  that  inner  life  that  we 
want  to  get  into,  for  it  will  help  us  greatly  in  giving  what  is  ordinarily 
called  the  school  work. 

I  received  my  greatest  blessing  as  a  teacher,  not  in  the  first  three 
or  four  years  of  my  experience,  when  I  went  directly  as  a  college 
graduate  to  the  head  of  a  school  department,  but  when  I  was  called 
from  the  headship  of  that  department  down  to  Honolulu  to  become 
the  principal  of  a  Chinese  school.  That  is  where  I  got  my  experience, 
the  best  element  in  my  teaching  experience,  of  all  the  twenty-five 
years  it  has  been  my  privilege  to  teach.  There  I  found  boys  aged  all 
the  way  from  five  to  twenty-five.  The  reason  I  appreciate  that  ex¬ 
perience  is  because  it  drew  me  out  on  the  father  side.  I  had  not 
only  to  teach  them  in  the  classroom,  but  when  Friday  evening  came, 
Sabbath  afternoon,  or  any  other  time  out  of  school,  I  had  to  go*out 
with  those  boys,  be  one  among  them,  live  with  them.  The  only 
time  I  could  be  away  from  them  safely  any  length  of  time  was  while 
they  were  asleep. 

Second:  Take  notice  of  students  outside  of  the  formal  work.  How 
much  there  is  to  the  little  touch  outside  of  the  routine  work  of  the 
school!  If  there  is  one  thing  I  admired  in  a  normal  director  I  recently 
met,  it  was  the  interest  he  took  in  the  pupils  when  he  met  them  any¬ 
where  on  the  street,  and  inquired  what  they  were  doing.  It  was 
on  my  way  here  that  I  visited  the  Gary  schools,  and  was  conducted 
through  by  the  physician,  a  great-hearted  man.  There  were  a  few 
incidents  in  that  visit  that  impressed  me.  We  were  passing  a  boy  in 
the  manual  training  school,  molding  and  shaping  something  out  ol 
sand,  and  the  doctor  stopped  to  inquire  what  he  was  doing  there  at 
play  hour.  He  found  out  the  boy  was  making  something  that  he  had 
an  interest  in,  and  he  made  a  little  comment  on  it.  I  observed  that 
the  doctor  always  gave  that  personal  touch  to  boys  and  girls  as  he 
passed  them.  And  how  their  eyes  sparkled  when  he  took  an  interest 
in  them! 

Another  thought  is  association  with  students  in  responsibilities 
outside  the  schoolroom.  If  we  can  go  out  and  bear  with  the  boys 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


41 


and  girls  responsibilities  that  they  have  to  bear,  it  opens  their  hearts. 
I  know  by  experience.  We  had  one  of  our  Chinese  boys  with  us  in 
this  country.  He  was  a  grandson  of  the  vice-consul  of  Honolulu. 
The  little  boy  had  been  raised  amid  plenty.  At  the  time  he  came 
to  our  industrial  school  and  was  assigned  his  part  in  the  work,  I  had 
charge  of  part  of  the  small  fruits.  One  day  I  said  to  him,  “Mr. 
Wong,  wouldn’t  you  like  to  go  out  and  hoe  strawberries  today?” 
He  said,  “  I  don’t  know  how,  but  I  am  willing  to  try.”  While  we  were 
working  together  and  talking  of  the  wonders  of  plant  life,  his  heart 
opened  up.  He  later  became  a  worker,  went  back  to  China,  and 
worked  several  years  in  the  cause. 

The  directing  work  of  the  school  work  of  students,  I  cannot  stop 
to  notice,  but  the  last  point  I  shall  mention  is  to  follow  up  boys  and 
girls  after  they  get  through  with  their  school  work.  I  want  to  lay 
strong  emphasis  upon  this.  Know  where  they  are  going,  and  what 
they  are  going  to  do.  Remember  them  after  they  have  gone.  Keep 
in  touch  with  them,  especially  if  they  have  not  finished  their  regular 
course  in  the  school.  Let  them  know  that  your  interest  in  them  is 
something  greater  than  merely  the  routine  work  of  the  schoolroom, 
that  you  are  interested  in  their  success,  in  their  future  career. 

I  hope  that  the  time  has  come,  and  I  believe  it  has,  when  the 
preceptor  and  preceptress  in  our  colleges  and  academies  will  be  the 
best  educators  and  the  best  qualified  teachers  in  the  school. 

W.  C.  White:  I  believe  that  our  brethren  have  been  speaking  in 
a  very  kind  way  about  the  weakest  and  saddest  feature  of  our  college 
work,  that  is  the  lack  of  a  home  influence,  especially  in  our  boys’ 
dormitories.  We  have  tried  to  make  it  up  by  favoring  our  girls.  I 
do  not  regret  one  thing  that  we  do  for  our  girls;  we  do  not  do  enough 
for  them;  but  I  believe  that  we  sadly  neglect  our  boys  by  the  absence 
of  the  father-and-mother  interest,  an  individual  interest,  loving,  pa¬ 
tient,  tender,  an  interest  which  loves  them  so  well  that  it  will  not 
rest  with  conditions  existing  in  our  boys’  homes,  which  we  all  know 
to  be  wrong. 

I  pray  God  to  help  us  to  be  willing  to  spend  more  in  the  matter 
of  selecting  fathers  and  mothers.  It  may  take  men  of  large  experi¬ 
ence  out  of  the  field  to  stand  in  our  boys’  homes,  but  let  us  give  them 
encouragement,  and  give  them  such  a  program  to  work  to,  and  such 
support  in  carrying  out  that  program,  that  they  can  make  our  boys’ 
homes  truly  homes,  and  that  the  boys  will  feel  that  the  preceptor 
and  preceptress  are  father  and  mother. 


THE  RELATION  OF  OUR  SCHOOLS  TO  THEIR 

CONSTITUENCY 


B.  G.  WILKINSON 

I.  What  Our  Schools  Should  Give  to  Their  Constituents 

We  must  never  forget  the  word  of  Paul  that  man  was  called  to 
"glory  and  honor  and  immortality.”  He  was  designed  to  achieve  no 
mean  attainment.  Man  owes  it  to  his  high  calling  to  provide  barriers 
against  the  descent  to  a  lower  level. 

At  the  earliest  possible  moment  the  child  should  have  set  before 
it  the  best  ideals,  and  be  furnished  the  most  rapid  method  of  attain¬ 
ing  them.  For  the  bringing  about  of  these  purposes,  constituents, 
united  in  a  common  purpose,  create  the  school.  The  school  is  the 
assembly  of  masters,  all  influencing  the  child  for  the  release  of  his  im¬ 
prisoned  faculties. 

As  it  is  the  money  of  the  patrons  which  furnishes  the  students, 
erects  the  buildings,  pays  the  faculty,  and  provides  a  cooperating 
board,  so  the  school  owes  it  to  the  children  to  give  them  as  quickly 
as  possible  the  fundamental  principles  which  underlie  and  control  all 
knowledge.  Or,  as  one  university  graduate  writes,  while  relating  to 
the  monthly  journal  of  his  Alma  Mater  his  rapid  rise  in  promotion, 
"I  gained  in  four  short  years  a  wealth  of  knowledge  and  informa¬ 
tion  which  I  could  not  have  acquired  in  a  lifetime  through  the  mill¬ 
ing  grind  of  experience.”  The  school  owes  to  its  constituents, — 

i.  Leadership  in  Opinion. —  It  is  said  of  some  men  that  their 
fellows  feared  them  as  much  as  they  did  public  opinion,  that  in  fact 
those  leaders  were  public  opinion.  They  lived  in  an  atmosphere  one 
step  in  advance  of  their  generation.  Give  me  a  good  school  located 
in  the  midst  of  a  conference  and  doing  its  duty,  and  I  will  show  you 
an  uplifting  factor  in  the  midst  of  that  conference.  I  will  show  you 
a  conference  steadily  coming  up  in  tithes  and  increasing  each  year 
its  gifts  to  missions.  A  conference  with  a  good  school  ought  to  be 
the  leading  conference  in  the  union.  And  a  union  blessed  with  a 
good  school  or  good  schools  is  bound  to  be  a  leading  union. 

Our  school  system  should  hold  the  first  place  among  us  as  a  peo¬ 
ple.  It  must  be  the  big  flywheel  which  speeds  up  the  smaller  wheels. 
It  is  the  source  of  speed  for  them  all.  This  denomination  has  lost 
a  great  deal  of  precious  time  by  not  hitching  more  of  its  work  to  the 
school. 

As  a  center,  the  school  has  a  work  of  great  importance.  If  we 
strike  a  blow  at  the  center,  it  is  a  serious  thing.  Strike  a  blow  at  some 
bank  in  Kansas,  and  nothing  is  affected;  but  strike  a  blow  at  the 

42 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


43 


Bank  of  England,  and  the  financial  fabric  of  empires  reels  and  tot¬ 
ters.  The  worst  blows  struck  at  this  denomination  have  been  either 
the  closing  of  a  good  school  or  the  premature  creation  of  an  uncalled- 
for  school.  Derange  slightly  this  nervous  system  of  the  church,  and 
all  members  feel  the  shock.  For.  it  is  a  leader  in  fertilizing  thought, 
the  center  from  which  something  better  than  the  commonplace  is 
always  expected. 

2.  Spiritual  Leaders. —  The  schools  owe  the  field  spiritual  leaders. 
Create  within  the  school  a  high  spiritual  atmosphere,  and  its  influ¬ 
ence  radiates  to  the  utmost  borders  of  its  territory.  The  boys  and 
girls  write  letters  home,  telling  of  their  latest  experience  with  Jesus. 
The  parents  are  stirred,  and  that  stirs  the  church.  Life  is  aroused, 
new  enterprises  are  launched,  and  money  flows  in.  The  school  should 
ever  stand  ready  to  open  its  doors  and  release  something  good. 

When  the  death  of  Esta  Miller  occurred  in  China,  Mount  Vernon 
College,  from  which  he  had  gone  forth  only  a  year  previously,  felt 
the  shock.  A  memorial  service  was  held  in  the  chapel.  As  resolu¬ 
tions  of  loving  sympathy  were  drawn  up  for  the  bereaved,  the  presi¬ 
dent  asked  the  assembled  student  body  how  many  would  refuse  if 
the  call  were  made  for  some  one  of  them  to  go  to  China  to  fill  the  place 
made  vacant  by  the  death  of  their  fellow  and  past  associate.  No 
answer.  Then  the  question  was  put  this  way,  “How  many  young 
men  are  there  here  who  would  respond  if  the  call  came  for  you  to  go 
to  China  to  take  the  place  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  Brother 
Miller?”  Immediately  fifty  young  men  arose  to  their  feet,  signify¬ 
ing  their  willingness  to  go,  and  if  need  be,  to  lay  down  their  lives  amid 
the  fevers  of  China  as  witnesses  to  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Our  schools  must,  if  they  fill  their  mission,  give  spiritual  leaders 
both  to  their  constituencies  and  to  other  climes. 

II.  What  Our  Constituents  Should  Give  the  School 

i.  The  field  owes  the  school  organization  and  management.  Im¬ 
portant  as  is  the  school,  it  is  impossible  for  it  to  run  the  field.  The 
field  should  control  all  the  schools.  And  the  larger  coordinating 
unit  you  can  have,  the  better.  In  this  case  we  could  not  go  farther 
than  the  union  as  the  largest  organization  among  us  which  should 
exercise  a  control,  more  or  less  direct,  over  all  the  schools  within  its 
border. 

Since  her  defeat  in  1870,  France  has  so  thoroughly  sensed  the  need 
of  this,  that  all  the  schools,  even  the  University  of  Paris,  are  under  the 
supervision  of  a  national  board,  called  the  Superior  Council.  Own¬ 
ership  vests  in  the  different  corporations,  municipal,  provincial,  or 


44 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


private,  as  the  case  may  be,  but  the  board  is  represented  or  affiliated, 
directly  or  indirectly,  with  the  Superior  Council. 

Oui  unions  ought,  through  union  committees,  to  have  controlling 
supervision  of  all  the  educational  work  done  within  their  limits.  In 
the  case  of  fourteen-  and  sixteen-grade  schools,  the  union  committee 
should  have  ownership  and  constitute  the  board.  As  to  the  twelve- 
grade  schools,  members  of  the  union  committee  should  be  on  the 
board,  having  a  proportion  to  other  members  of  the  board  not  less 
than  one  fourth.  Ten-grade  schools  should  also  receive  from  the 
union  as  direct  control  as  possible.  Questions  concerning  the  own¬ 
ership,  constituency  composition,  and  chairmanship  of  the  board, 
should  be  arranged  according  to  the  circumstances  of  each  union. 
Church  schools  should  receive  affiliation  through  the  Educational 
Department.  Of  course  final  authorization  with  respect  to  these 
changes  should  come  from  the  North  American  Division  Council. 

The  union  committee  ought  to  be  father  to  all  the  schools  within 
the  union.  Yet  it  cannot  be  so  effectively  without  both  responsibil¬ 
ity  and  authority:  responsibility  enough  so  that  upon  its  initiative 
and  constant  aid  would  depend  the  success  of  the  schools;  authority 
enough  so  that  the  committee  could  always,  in  behalf  of  the  progress 
of  the  schools,  step  in,  not  by  invitation,  but  by  right. 

2.  The  field  owes  it  to  the  school  to  see  that  competent  leaders 
are  within  reach  to  supply  the  faculty.  Is  it  too  much  to  demand 
that  a  teacher  should  come  to  his  class  with  an  experience  or  educa¬ 
tion  four  years  in  advance  of  the  class  he  teaches?  Often  have  our 
schools  suffered  through  teachers  whose  preparation  was  merely  what 
they  learned  by  studying  a  few  hours  in  advance  of  the  class  they 
taught.  How  many  of  us  would  like  to  have  our  children  experi¬ 
mented  on  in  that  way? 

Especially  for  our  higher  grade  schools  ought  the  field  to  awaken 
and*  cooperate  in  providing  well-trained  faculties.  If  study  abroad 
is  needed,  the  teacher  or  prospective  teacher  should  have  the  oppor¬ 
tunity.  If  a  summer  vacation  under  time  and  pay,  if  one  year’s 
absence  with  pay  or  part  pay,  spent  in  special  study,  is  necessary 
to  give  us  the  properly  trained  forces,  it  would  be  money  well  spent 
for  the  denomination  so  to  arrange,  and  thus  keep  her  leading  schools 
equipped  with  a  properly  trained  force.  For  education  begins  at 
the  top;  it  does  not  begin  at  the  bottom.  You  cannot  have  good 
church-school  teachers  unless  you  have  good  normal  schools;  you 
cannot  have  good  normal  schools  unless  you  have  a  normal  faculty 
whose  members  have  an  education  the  equivalent  of  a  college  educa¬ 
tion,  if  not  more.  And  you  cannot  have  a  good  college  without  men 
at  its  head  who  are  masters  and  leaders. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


45 


We  must  educate  our  constituency  to  this  need.  Much  blame 
lies  at  the  door  of  our  educators  themselves  if  they  do  not  place  before 
the  field  the  necessity  of  paying  attention  to  this  serious  problem. 
Some  one  has  said  that  the  sentence,  “That  will  do,”  has  done  more 
harm  than  any  other  sentence  in  the  English  language.  A  vacancy 
occurs  in  one  of  our  faculties.  We  make  haste  to  pick  somebody  to 
fill  it,  and  we  say,  “That  will  do.”  Much  more  care  should  be  re¬ 
quired  than  simply  to  fill  important  vacancies  with  forced  selections. 
The  field  should  take  this  in  hand,  to  see  that  ample  provision  is  made 
to  arrange  in  advance  a  supply  of  educated  and  trained  men. 

The  denomination  must  not  be  left  bare  and  empty  handed. 
The  burden  for  these  important  centers  must  be  carried  on  the  heart 
of  some  efficient  committee,  either  field  or  department.  It  is  the 
duty  of  this  Council  to  start  something  going  toward  working  out 
this  problem.  The  very  program  of  education  will  inspire  confidence 
in  the  ranks,  and  call  forth  young  men  and  women  who  will  feel  it 
a  privilege  to  give  their  life  to  such  a  call.  But  some  will  say,  “How 
shall  we  get  these  funds?”  Let  us  see  further  down. 

3.  Again,  the  field  should  bear  a  responsible  part  in  the  problem 
of  getting  students  into  the  schools,  and  of  sending  the  graduates  of 
our  schools  into  the  field.  We  feel  thankful  for  the  work  Mount 
Vernon  College  has  done  during  the  past  five  years,  while  lifting  the 
institution  out  of  debt  and  putting  it  in  a  better  condition  of  repair. 
We  look  at  the  Ohio  Conference,  and  see  three  of  Mount  Vernon’s  re¬ 
cent  students  filling  positions  of  responsibility;  at  the  West  Virginia 
Conference,  where  the  two  ordained  ministers  are  her  graduates;  at 
the  East  Pennsylvania  Conference,  where  she  has  just  supplied  the  field 
agent  and  a  minister:  while  the  president  of  the  Virginia  Conference 
is  a  recent  graduate.  And  this  is  to  say  nothing  of  the  numbers 
gone  to  fields  abroad.  In  fact,  with  the  educational  problems  rightly 
adjusted  in  the  Columbia  Pinion  Conference,  this  union  could  easily 
be  self-supplying.  Here  is  a. mine  of  gold. 

A  fund  should  be  provided  in  order  to  get  students  into  the  schools 
and  workers  into  the  field.  For  the  want  of  a  better  name  just  now, 
let  us  call  it  an  Educational  Fund.  Why  should  not  the  field  ar¬ 
range  at  once  for  this?  Sometimes  our  conferences  are  led  by  a  hesi¬ 
tating  president  or  by  a  hesitating  executive  committee.  They  fear 
to  spend  any  money  on  developing  a  graduate  because  it  seems  to 
carry  the  risk  of  loss.  Yet  our  experience  in  this  union  has  been, 
that  where  we  have  been  able  to  get  the  conference  by  some  induce¬ 
ment  to  take  on  a  graduate,  the  young  person  has  always  made  good. 
I  know  of  some  now  in  whose  behalf,  at  first,  we  met  great  opposition, 


46 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


but  who  the  conference  would  not  now  let  go  for  any  inducement. 
Now,  if  it  lay  within  the  possibility  of  the  college  or  of  the  union  com¬ 
mittee  to  say,  “Here,  take  on  this  young  graduate  and  give  him  a 
trial  for  a  year,  and  we  will  bear  part  salary,”  it  would  not  be  long 
before  we  could  give  the  field  many  better  men,  and  raise  the  standard 
of  the  ministry. 

Another  problem,  as  great,  if  not  greater,  is  that  of  assisting  worthy 
students  into  school.  Many  times  these  students  are  of  such  good 
caliber  that  all  they  need  is  to  be  assisted  enough  to  get  them  there. 
Then  they  are  able  quickly  to  find  ways  and  means  of  helping  them¬ 
selves.  Others  again,  as  they  largely  do  in  the  European  Division, 
notably  in  Friedensau,  will  draw  heavily  on  this  fund,  obligating 
themselves  to  return  their  advance  after  graduation  and  entrance 
into  the  work.  Certainly  some  steps  should  be  taken  to  raise  from 
the  field  an  educational  fund. 

4.  The  field  owes  a  distinct  financial  obligation  to  the  school. 
Men  are  always  of  more  worth  than  means.  To  develop  men  is  a 
sounder  policy  than  to  emphasize  the  development  of  means.  It  is 
also  more  economical.  Men  can  produce  means  in  greater  propor¬ 
tion  than  means  can  produce  men.  Not  to  throw  plenty  of  means 
into  developing  men  is  like  using  the  wrong  end  of  the  lever.  The 
field  should  raise  the  school  finances  for  three  distinct  purposes:  (1) 
To  furnish  the  necessary  material  equipment,  such  as  buildings,  lab¬ 
oratories,  libraries,  gymnasia;  (2)  To  provide  an  educational  fund 
capable  of  assisting  to  the  school  worthy  poor  students  and  of  help¬ 
ing  graduates  from  the  institution  to  get  a  start  in  the  field;  (3)  To 
make  possible  the  development  of  a  larger  and  stronger  teaching  force. 

To  provide  these  means  I  propose  that  this  Council  pass  reso¬ 
lutions  asking  for  the  indorsement  of  the  North  American  Division 
to  a  proposition  to  set  aside  certain  revenues  from  the  field  as  a  re¬ 
source  for  the  carrying  out  of  the  above  projects.  To  begin  with, 
such  revenues  as  legacies,  annuities,  and  specific  gifts  for  these  edu¬ 
cational  purposes,  could  go  to  lay  the  foundations  of  such  a  fund  or 
funds  for  the  above  endeavors.  It  has  been  suggested, —  though  at 
present  the  carrying  out  of  suggestions  looks  a  long  way  off, —  when 
the  extra  five  cents  of  the  Twenty-cent-a-week  Fund  has  aided  to 
liquidate  the  institutional  indebtedness  of  this  country,  that  it  be 
continued,  and  thereafter  devoted  to  the  furnishing  of  an  educational 
endowment  fund.  This  may  not  be  practicable,  but  it  contains  the 
germ  of  an  excellent  idea.  Other  plans  could  be  worked  out  by  a 
committee  who  felt  the  need  of  the  situation. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


47 


I  am  certainly  of  the  opinion  that  the  time  has  arrived  to  take 
up  this  proposition,  and  to  seek  for  the  proper  ways  and  means  to  bring 
into  existence  adequate  revenues  to  meet  the  great  pressure  which 
is  now,  and  soon  will  be  in  greater  measure,  upon  our  schools,  to  sup¬ 
ply  the  workers  demanded  by  the  rapidly  increasing  growth  of  the 
message. 

DISCUSSION 

E.  E.  Andross:  It  seems  to  me  that  the  school  is  truly  an  annex 
to  the  home,  and  that  the  same  relations  that  exist  in  the  home,  be¬ 
tween  the  various  members  of  the  family,  should  exist  in  the  local  or 
union  conference,  and  that  these  should  be  maintained  in  the  school. 
The  relation  between  the  constituents  and  the  faculty  and  members 
of  the  school  ought  to  be  fraternal  in  its  nature. 

I  agree  with  the  speakers  on  the  other  theme,  that  the  more  that 
can  be  done  to  bring  this  spirit  into  the  school,  the  more  you  will 
see  the  right  relation  existing  between  the  school  and  the  patrons  of 
the  school.  I  believe  that  that  will  mean  the  growth  of  the  school 
more  than  you  have  seen  in  the  past.  If  we  can  make  our  schools 
more  like  a  home,  then  the  young  people,  when  they  go  away  from 
their  homes  and  into  the  school,  will  feel  more  at  home;  And  when 
they  return  to  their  homes,  they  will  be  anxious  to  get  back  again. 
If  that  could  be  done,  it  would  constitute  a  very  strong  tie  between 
the  homes  out  in  the  field  and  the  home  in  the  school.  The  good 
words  going  back  from  the  young  people  to  their  homes  would  cer¬ 
tainly  tie  the  two  together.  I  think  we  should  labor  to  this  end. 

Some  of  the  thoughts  that  have  been  introduced  into  the  paper 
are  worthy  of  further  consideration.  We  have  been  endeavoring 
here  in  this  union  to  bring  about  a  condition  of  affiliation  between  our 
various  schools,  and  this  leads  us  clear  back  to  the  home,  through 
the  church  schools.  It  has  seemed  to  us  that  we  ought  to  estab¬ 
lish  uniformity  in  our  school  work,  from  the  college  and  academies 
down  to  the  intermediate  and  elementary  schools;  so  we  started 
an  affiliated  calendar,  in  which  we  have  represented  not  only  the  col¬ 
lege,  but  also  the  academies,  intermediate  schools,  and  elementary 
schools.  While  we  have  not  yet  accomplished  all  that  we  hoped  to 
do,  I  believe  that  we  have  accomplished  much  along  this  line,  and  we 
have  brought  at  least  a  better  state  of  affairs  into  existence  in  the 
union,  between  the  college  and  the  academies.  The  academy  now 
feels  that  it  is  a  part  of  the  college,  and  we  even  thought  it  might  be 
that  when  a  child  enters  church  school,  he  would  feel  that  he  was  in 
the  first  grade  of  the  college,  just  as  much  as  those  who  are  in  the 
normal  department.  When  pupils  enter  on  the  first  grade  of  work, 


48 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


they  have  started  toward  the  sixteenth  grade.  In  this  way  our  chil¬ 
dren  everywhere  would  feel  that  they  were  climbing  up  toward  the 
sixteenth  grade  and  toward  their  degree,  and  the  parents  would  have 
an  interest  in  every  grade  of  work  in  our  educational  system. 

We  have  accomplished  something  along  this  line,  but  in  order  to 
make  it  even  better,  we  ought  to  have  in  our  elementary  and  inter¬ 
mediate  schools  and  in  our  academies,  teachers  from  the  college.  If 
they  go  on  up  through  the  grades  in  the  college,  and  then  begin  to 
teach  in  the  lowest,  they  will  turn  the  tide  toward  our  schools  in  a 
way  that  we  have  not  seen  before.  We  are  working  in  that  direc¬ 
tion  in  this  union. 

I  will  not  try  to  tell  you  what  we  are  trying  to  accomplish  in 
every  particular,  but  the  writer  of  the  paper  speaks  about  the  con¬ 
trol  and  ownership  that  should  exist.  I  believe  that  much  could  be 
worked  out  along  this  line.  It  does  seem  to  me  as  if  a  sort  of  chaotic 
state  does  exist  to  a  large  degree,  in  our  educational  work.  The  work 
has  not  become  thoroughly  organized  as  yet.  I  hope  we  shall  see  it  so 
organized  just  a  little  later  on. 

I  do  believe,  as  was  stated  in  this  paper,  that  more  ought  to  be 
done  looking  toward  the  employment  of  our  graduates  in  conference 
work.  Here  in  this  union,  while  we  do  not  want  you  to  think  that 
we  are  setting  ourselves  up  as  an  example,  we  have  been  fortunate 
enough  to  place  twenty-one  or  twenty-two  graduates  of  our  schools 
in  the  various  conferences  in  this  union.  As  a  union, —  and  1  think 
this  extends  down  to  our  conferences  everywhere, —  we  believe  that 
we  get  the  most  effective  laborers  from  our  schools. 

We  are  not  seeking  to  bring  men  and  women  into  the  truth,  and 
then  put  them  right  out  into  the  field  before  they  have  a  training. 
We  do  not  believe  that  is  safe.  I  would  not  ask  for  a  fund  to  help 
place  graduates  in  the  work.  I  do  not  think  we  need  to  create  a  fund 
for  that.  I  do  not  believe  the  college  needs  to  extend  any  induce¬ 
ment  to  the  conferences  to  encourage  them  to  accept  the  services  of 
its  graduates.  I  think  the  conferences  ought  to  be  waiting  at  the 
doors  of  the  college  for  its  graduates.  I  think  the  conferences  would 
be  greatly  benefited  if  they  would  look  to  the  college  rather  than  to 
any  other  source. 

When  our  children  have  gone  through  the  schools  and  are  fitted 
for  efficient  service  in  the  field,  how  can  it  be  otherwise  than  that 
the  parents  will  have  the  closest  feelings  of  affiliation  with  the  schools? 


HOW  SHALL  WE  INCREASE  THE  ATTENDANCE 
IN  OUR  SCHOOLS  OF  ALL  GRADES? 


W.  W.  RUBLE 

The  question  of  securing  a  large  attendance  in  all  our  schools  is 
a  very  important  one  from  the  standpoint  of  the  student,  as  well  as 
from  the  standpoint  of  a  great  work  to  be  done,  and  the  short  time 
allotted  for  that  purpose.  Any  school  that  is  dependent  largely 
upon  the  loyalty  of  its  patrons  for  support,  and  does  not  give  in  re¬ 
turn  as  much  or  more  than  can  be  secured  from  another  school  of 
equal  educational  facilities,  can  never  hope  to  increase  its  attendance. 

I  am  free  to  say  that  I  believe  that  up  to  the  present  time  the 
success  of  our  school  system  has  depended  largely  upon  the  loyalty 
of  our  people.  Likewise,  the  number  attending,  especially  in  our  ele¬ 
mentary  schools,  has  been  due  to  this  spirit  of  loyalty  rather  than  to 
any  additional  virtue  our  schools  have  had  over  the  public  schools. 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  misunderstood  when  I  say  this.  It  is  no 
lack  of  faith  in  the  plan  God  has  given  us  that  has  forced  me  to 
this  conclusion,  but  there  is  no  royal  road  to  reform.  We  must  face 
the  situation  fairly  before  we  can  hope  to  improve  conditions. 

The  Church  School 

At  present  the  only  advantage  the  average  church  school  has  over 
the  public  school  is  that  the  teacher  has  the  privilege  of  teaching 
Bible  principles  to  the  students. 

The  public  school  may  have  the  advantage  in  the  teaching  of  the 
common  branches  and  in  the  teaching  of  music,  drawing,  manual 
training,  good  form,  etc.  This  is  not  as  it  should  be,  but  these  are 
the  facts;  and  now  is  the  time  for  us  to  face  the  situation,  and  bring 
about  such  changes  as  will  place  our  church  schools  upon  vantage 
ground,  in  the  lead,  and  not  leave  them  dependent  wholly  upon  the 
loyalty  of  a  loyal  people  for  their  support. 

The  Remedy 

Before  we  can  hope  to  change  the  present  conditions,  we  must 
have  teachers  who  are  trained  for  the  work  before  them,  those  who 
have  actually  met  the  real  difficulties  of  the  classroom  before  they 
leave  the  place  of  training. 

In  the  past  we  have  been  giving  our  teachers  a  training  that  has 
fitted  them  to  teach  in  a  school  where  three  or  four  teachers  are  em¬ 
ployed  to  teach  the  first  eight  grades.  We  have  only  a  very  few 
4  49 


50 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


such  schools.  Almost  every  church-school  teacher  must  teach  at 
least  six  or  seven  grades;  and  when  a  young  teacher  who  has  been 
trained  to  teach  two  or  three  grades  and  has  done  her  practice-teaching 
under  those  conditions,  has  been  given  her  normal  training  for  such 
a  school,  and  then  enters  a  schoolroom  where  she  must  teach  six  or 
seven  grades,  including  Bible  and  normal  training,  she  is  unable  to 
meet  the  situation  successfully  unless  she  has  greater  adaptability 
than  the  majority  of  people  possess.  The  result  is,  she  gives  up  in 
despair,  or  returns  to  rural-school  methods  of  teaching. 

If  the  teacher  were  trained  under  different  conditions,  this  need 
not  be  true.  Each  normal  training  school  professing  to  train  church- 
school  teachers  should  have  a  room  containing  at  least  five  or  six 
grades  under  the  direct  management  of  a  competent  critic-teacher, 
where  the  prospective  teachers  can  do  their  practice-teaching  and  see 
the  application  of  the  principles  of  normal  training  under  the  same 
conditions  they  will  meet  in  the  ordinary  church  school. 

The  simple  methods  of  teaching  cooking,  sewing,  woodwork,  and 
agriculture  should  be  worked  out  here  by  securing  the  cooperation 
of  the  home  with  the  school,  the  same  as  will  be  necessary  when  the 
teacher  reaches  the  church  school.  These  plans  should  be  included 
in  the  program  as  a  suggestive  guide  to  the  teacher  when  she  reaches 
the  school. 

The  right  methods  of  imparting  religious  instruction  also  should 
be  given  here,  so  that  the  teacher  need  not  be  left  without  any  aid 
when  she  leaves  her  place  of  training. 

When  teachers  thus  trained  reach  the  church  schools,  and  try 
the  simple  principles  of  manual  training  and  proper  religious  instruc¬ 
tion  which  bind  the  home  and  school  together,  the  common  branches 
will  be  better  taught,  the  school  will  second  the  effort  of  the  home, 
and  the  church  school  will  fill  the  place  the  Lord  designed  it  should 
fill.  This  will  prepare  the  children  to  become  real  home  missionaries, 
before  receiving  the  training  to  become  foreign  missionaries,  and 
there  will  be  no  difficulty  about  securing  the  attendance  of  every 
Seventh-day  Adventist  child,  as  well  as  bidding  for  the  attendance  of 
other  children. 

Intermediate  Schools  and  Colleges 

The  object  of  our  more  advanced  schools  is,  first,  to  give  the 
training  to  students  who  are  so  frequently  neglected  at  home;  second, 
to  give  a  Christian  training  for  more  efficient  usefulness  in  the  specific 
duties  of  life,  that  the  student  called  to  the  home,  the  farm,  or  the 
shop,  may  be  a  leader  in  his  community,  a  laborer  together  with  God, 
and  a  worker  in  the  message;  third,  to  thoroughly  equip  those  called 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


51 


directly  to  the  different  lines  of  activity  in  connection  with  the  giving 
of  the  last  message  of  warning  to  the  world,  and  train  them  for  the 
specific  duties  of  ministers,  physicians,  nurses,  Bible  workers,  mission¬ 
aries,  teachers,  colporteurs,  office  workers,  etc. 

A  school  neglecting  any  one  of  these  features  is  not  living  up  to 
the  principles  given  us  by  the  Great  Teacher,  and  cannot  hope  to 
receive  the  patronage,  even  from  a  loyal  people,  that  it  should  have. 
Enthusiasm  and  appeal  may  bolster  up  the  school  for  a  time,  but  that 
which  will  warrant  a  steady  increase  in  patronage  is  the  production 
of  the  goods,  honestly  labeled. 

Plans 

When  the  schools  reach  the  standard,  it  becomes  necessary  to 
make  known  to  the  parents  and  students  the  work  that  is  being  done 
and  the  value  of  the  training  that  is  offered,  before  a  desire  will  be 
created  in  the  minds  of  students  to  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages 
to  be  gained.  The  responsibility  of  making  known  the  advantages 
of  Christian  education  rests  primarily  upon  the  educational  superin¬ 
tendent,  the  educational  secretary,  and  the  teachers  in  the  schools; 
and  secondarily,  upon  every  minister  and  worker. 

In  order  to  increase  the  interest  and  attendance  in  the  church 
schools,  the  conference  educational  superintendent  should  be  free  to 
devote  his  entire  time  to  the  educational  work.  In  addition  to  the 
care  of  the  schools  organized,  there  are  churches  to  visit,  new  schools 
to  organize,  school  buildings  to  plan  for,  the  salary  of  teachers 
and  expense  of  schools  to  provide  for,  etc.  In  these  things  the 
church  needs  the  direct  help  of  the  superintendent,  and  this  work 
should  be  prosecuted  until  every  child  born  to  Seventh-day  Advent¬ 
ists  is  found  under  the  care  of  a  Christian  teacher. 

The  conference  president  and  other  workers  should  have  this 
important  matter  upon  their  hearts,  and  while  visiting  the  churches 
they  should  give  at  least  one  meeting  to  the  consideration  of  Chris¬ 
tian  education. 

Any  agitation  which  contributes  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  church 
school  will  tend  to  increase  the  attendance  in  the  advanced  schools. 
Each  missionary  secretary  should  have  a  list  which  includes  the  name, 
age,  nationality,  grade,  and  ambition  of  every  child  and  young  per¬ 
son  in  the  conference,  and  he  should  supply  the  educational  super¬ 
intendent  with  a  list  of  the  children  of  church-school  age,  the  principal 
of  the  academy  with  a  list  of  those  who  should  attend  the  academy, 
and  the  president  of  the  college  with  a  list  of  those  who  should  attend 
the  college.  When  these  lists  are  in  the  hands  of  the  heads  of  the 


52 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


schools,  a  regular  system  of  correspondence  can  be  entered  upon,  and 
a  card  file  kept  which  will  place  every  Seventh -day  Adventist  young 
person  in  direct  touch  with  the  school  by  regular  correspondence. 

Then  there  must  be  the  personal  touch.  So  many  of  our  schools 
fail  in  this.  The  teachers  are  not  employed  during  the  vacation, 
and  the  principal  enters  tent  work  or  takes  a  vacation. 

Each  school  should  make  provision  during  vacation  for  its  teach¬ 
ers,  or  a  portion  of  them,  to  visit  the  churches,  enter  the  homes  of 
the  people,  get  acquainted  with  the  young  people,  and  attach  the 
school  to  the  home. 

I  have  sometimes  labored  several  years  with  young  people  before 
I  succeeded  in  getting  them  interested  in  securing  an  education;  but 
after  the  start  was  made,  I  have  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  them 
develop  into  noble  workers  in  the  cause  of  God. 

Our  people  wish  to  know  the  teachers  to  whom  they  are  to  intrust 
the  training  of  their  sons  and  daughters.  They  should  have  the  priv¬ 
ilege  of  meeting  them,  not  only  at  the  camp  meetings,  but  as  far  as 
consistent,  they  should  have  the  privilege  of  entertaining  some  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  faculty  in  their  own  homes. 

After  all  the  plans  and  schemes  have  been  tried  out,  the  only 
thing  that  will  guarantee  a  regular  increase  in  attendance  in  our 
schools  is  for  the  school  to  meet  the  expectations  of  God’s  chosen  peo¬ 
ple  by  complying  with  the  conditions  outlined  by  the  spirit  of  proph¬ 
ecy.  This  means  that  they  should  include  in  the  course  of  study 
the  practical  features  that  have  so  long  been  neglected  by  us. 

We  should  not  move  rashly,  yet  we  must  before  the  end  make  a 
more  earnest  effort  to  reach  the  standard,  if  we  ever  hope  to  continue 
to  hold  the  support  of  our  loyal  people,  and  reach  our  ideal  of  “every 
Seventh-day  Adventist  child  under  the  care  of  a  Christian  teacher  in 
a  Christian  school.” 

DISCUSSION 

C.  L.  Stone:  I  know  that  many  of  our  young  people  would  be  in 
school  if  their  faces  were  turned  that  way,  if  their  hearts  were  turned 
that  way.  Many  of  them  must  be  converted  before  they  feel  the 
need  of  a  Christian  education..  However,  there  is  a  large  per  cent 
who  might  be  induced  to  attend  if  a  friendly  interest  were  shown  in 
them,  through  our  young  people’s  work,  or  by  direct  representatives 
from  the  school. 

I  should  like  to  emphasize  one  thought  noticed  in  the  paper.  It 
was  that  of  delivering  the  goods,  honestly  labeled.  I  have  known 
of  cases  where  schools  would  send  out  in  the  announcement  some 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


5.1 

feature  which  it  was  hardly  probable  would  be  given,  and  if  it  were 
given,  sometimes  very  inefficiently.  I  am  sure  this  is  very  detrimental 
to  the  building  up  of  an  attendance  in  any  school. 

Many  apt  expressions  have  come  into  the  English  ,ands  ome  of 
them  are  good.  This  “delivering  the  goods”  is  one,  perhaps  a 
little  hackneyed;  another  is  “efficiency;”  another  is  “making  good.” 
It  seems  to  me  if  a  school  turns  out  a  graduate  who  says,  as  a  young 
man  did  to  me  about  a  week  ago,  “  I  am  a  graduate  of  a  certain  school, 
but  I  could  not  recommend  young  men  to  go  there  to  school,” — I 
say  if  many  such  representatives  go  out  into  the  field,  it  will  not 
do  very  much  for  the  building  up  of  attendance  in  that  school. 

F.  Griggs:  That  young  man  had  probably  been  disciplined  just 
before  graduation. 

C.  L.  Stone:  I  did  not  hear  anything  about  that;  he  may  have 
been. 

There  are  a  great  many  devices  that  are  used  to  increase  attend¬ 
ance,  some  of  them  very  good  and  effective.  In  the  first  place,  I 
believe  that  the  representatives  of  the  .school  ought  to  be  able  to 
impress  the  parents  and  young  people  they  meet  at  camp  meetings, 
in  their  homes  or  churches,  or  wherever  they  may  be,  with  the  fact 
that  they  are  sincere,  efficient  teachers. 

I  like  to  remember  what  Dr.  Paulson  said  once  regarding  the  first 
time  he  saw  Professor  Prescott.  “I  was  all  wrapped  up  in  raising 
chickens,”  he  said,  “and  I  went  to  camp  meeting  with  my  head  full 
of  chickens;  but  when  I  saw  that  man  walk  across  the  ground,  he  put 
a  hunger  in  my  life  for  something  that  I  did  not  have,  and  I  never 
could  get  rid  of  that  hunger  till  I  went  to  school.”  We  may  not  all 
be  able  to  walk  in  a  way  to  raise  such  an  ambition,  but  there  ought 
to  be  something  about  the  representatives  of  our  schools  that  will 
appeal  to  the  young  people  whom  they  meet. 

I  should  like  to  refer  just  a  minute  to  the  cooperation  of  the 
young  people’s  workers  with  the  members  of  the  faculty,  those  who 
are  interested  in  building  up  the  school.  Many  times  the  field  man 
has  a  knowledge  of  home  conditions  that  would  be  of  great  benefit 
to  those  who  are  in  the  school,  and  who  find  it  impossible  to  get  in 
close  touch  with  the  young  people  in  their  homes.  It  seems  to  me 
that  there  ought  to  be  a  closer  fellowship,  a  more  united,  unselfish 
effort,  between  these  classes  of  workers,  so  that  all  may  unitedly 
work  to  get  these  young  people  in  training. 

I  sometimes  think  we  ought  to  write  a  book  of  “Don’ts”  too. 
One  thing  we  ought  to  say  is,  “Don’t  let  one  school  unlawfully  in¬ 
crease  its  attendance  to  the  detriment  of  another.”  That  has  been 


54 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


done,  and  it  doesn’t  create  a  very  friendly  feeling  somehow  in  the 
other  school.  I  have  heard  the  principals  of  such  schools  express 
themselves  about  it. 

Many  times  a  representative  will  be  sent  out  from  a  school  to  in¬ 
crease  the  attendance.  He  comes  in  contact  with  young  people  in 
various  parts  of  the  field,  and  becomes  acquainted  with  their  home 
conditions,  learns  how  much  money  they  have,  how  much  encourage¬ 
ment  they  receive  in  their  homes,  and  their  real  situation.  Sometimes 
if  just  a  little  financial  help,  a  little  educational  encouragement,  could 
be  given  at  the  right  time,  either  by  the  conference  or  by  the  local 
church  or  by  the  school  itself,  many  young  people  might  be  in  school 
who  hitherto  have  not  been  there.  I  believe  very  firmly  that  the 
instruction  in  Volume  VI,  that  there  should  be  a  fund  created  to 
assist  worthy  poor  students,  is  an  excellent  way  of  getting  these 
students  in  school.  When  our  schools  are  just  right  and  the  cooper¬ 
ation  between  the  field  and  the  school  is  just  right,  we  shall  secure 
many  of  these  young  people  who  have  not  been  in  our  schools  before, 
and  they  will  have  the  privilege  of  Christian  training. 

C.  W.  Irwin:  I  wish  to  emphasize  one  thing,  and  that  is  that  the 
school  itself  must  be  efficient  in  order  to  draw  students.  I  believe 
that  a  properly  conducted  school  is  like  a  magnet.  You  know  a 
magnet  draws  everything  that  will  affiliate  with  it.  If  a  school  is 
not  right,  you  cannot  drive  students  into  it.  You  can  try  to  drum 
up  the  students.  You  may  fill  it  up  one  year,  but  the  next  they  will 
be  gone.  You  may  write  an  article  in  the  union  conference  paper 
every  week,  but  it  will  not  draw  students  unless  there  is  something 
in  the  school  itself.  The  school  must  be  efficient,  the  teaching  must  be 
sound,  it  must  be  good,  it  must  be  high  grade,  in  harmony  with  the 
light  God  has  given  us  in  reference  to  the  conducting  of  our  schools. 

Students  are  not  afraid  of  discipline,  they  are  not  afraid  of  work; 
but  if  there  is  something  about  the  school  that  does  not  harmonize 
with  these  principles,  it  will  keep  students  away.  They  will  flock 
into  a  school  and  fill  it,  even  though  they  have  strict  discipline,  sim¬ 
ply  because  they  believe  that  there  they  can  get  a  training  that  per¬ 
haps  they  cannot  get  elsewhere.  So  I  think  the  primary  requisite 
in  building  up  a  school  is  that  its  training  shall  be  right,  that  it  shall 
be  sound,  and  that  it  shall  make  for  the  building  of  men,  and  then 
the  students  will  be  directed  to  it. 

C.  C.  Lewis:  Let  us  add  to  that,  the  cooperation  of  the  students 
themselves.  Get  them  to  cooperate,  get  them  interested,  lay  the 
burden  upon  them,  let  them  lay  their  own  plans  to  get  students,  and 
they  will  help  a  great  deal. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


55 


W.  L.  Adams:  At  Keene  there  is  a  prominent  organization  of  stu¬ 
dents  to  do  this  work.  We  believe  that  it  will  work  satisfactorily. 
They  have  also  a  magazine.  The  spirit  of  loyalty  among  the  students 
is  a  very  fine  thing,  especially  when  they  go  from  the  school  to  their 
home  conferences  to  mingle  with  the  young  people  in  the  camp  meet¬ 
ings  and  elsewhere. 

B.  F.  Machlan:  I  should  like  to  add  one  word  concerning  the 
value  of  a  systematic  card  index  kept  for  this  purpose  of  getting  in 
touch  with  the  young  people  in  the  union  conference  or  the  confer¬ 
ences,  as  the  school  may  be  either  a  union  or  a  conference  school. 
I  have  felt  that  it  was  a  great  advantage  to  me  to  be  able  to  get  in 
touch  with  all  the  young  people,  to  write  to  them  once  in  a  while,  to 
be  sure  that  they  got  a  catalogue,  and  to  be  sure  that  the  young 
people  who  went  from  the  homes  or  into  the  neighborhood,  were  doing 
a  good  work  where  they  were.  I  have  great  faith  in  the  living 
advertisement. 

J.  J.  Reiswig:  I  think  you  could  add  to  that  the  cooperation  of 
the  parents.  We  have  had  an  experience  in  our  academy.  It  seemed 
to  have  run  down,  and  one  year  we  questioned,  on  the  school  board, 
whether  we  ought  to  open  at  all  or  not.  It  seemed  that  we  could 
not  get  the  students  to  want  to  come  to  school.  We  heard  young 
people  talking  about  some  other  State  academy,  and  I  knew  they 
would  go  to  other  schools.  It  was  because  the  parents  did  not  like 
the  school.  At  camp  meeting  time,  when  we  talked  about  the  rais¬ 
ing  of  money,  they  would  get  up  and  leave,  and  perhaps  we  would 
have  only  a  handful  left.  If  we  talked  about  missions,  we  would 
have  them  all.  There  were  liberal  donations  for  missions,  but  little 
for  the  school. 

Our  president  said  we  must  work  that  thing  out  differently.  He 
said,  “We  will  call  large  committees,  and  let  the  brethren  come  in 
and  see  the  situation,  and  make  them  feel  that  they  are  a  part  of 
the  school.”  Of  course  it  was  a  financial  expense  to  get  some  of 
these  brethren  there,  but  it  has  aided  greatly.  Our  school  is  now  more 
than  full.  The  students  are  loyal  to  the  school  now,  because  the  par¬ 
ents  believe  in  it. 

A  year  ago  one  of  our  brethren  said,  “Why  don’t  you  come  to¬ 
gether  and  get  that  little  debt  out  of  the  way?  We  could  raise  that 
in  fifteen  minutes  at  camp  meeting.”  We  told  him  we  would  give 
him  a  chance,  and  now  the  thing  is  cleared  up,  and  the  spirit  of  the 
parents  is  with  the  school,  and  so  is  the  spirit  of  the  pupils.  If  we 
find  that  a  parent  is  talking  about  some  other  school,  we  now  plan 
to  put  him  on  as  a  member  of  the  large  committee. 


56 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSION ARY  VOLUNTEER 


W.  E.  Howell:  I  believe  in  every  principle  that  has  been  empha¬ 
sized.  I  just  wanted  to  add  to  the  idea  of  a  card-index  system,  that 
I  think  there  are  great  possibilities  in  having  that  worked  up  from  both 
ends.  I  do  not  think  there  ought  to  be  a  boy  or  a  girl  whose  name 
is  not  on  that  index  at  the  school.  But  I  want  to  emphasize  the  idea 
that  we  use  that  index  in  writing  to  these  people.  Some  people  who 
cannot  talk  so  attractively,  can  write  a  good  letter,  and  it  helps  much. 


WORKING  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  COLLEGE 
AND  ITS  AFFILIATED  ACADEMIES:  THE 
LAKE  UNION  PLAN.  ITS  MERITS 
AND  DEMERITS 

O.  J.  GRAF 

To  the  question,  Should  there  be  cooperation  between  the  college 
and  its  affiliated  academies?  there  can  be  only  one  correct  answer, 
for  “united  we  stand,  divided  we  fall.”  Both  are  sure  to  profit  from 
a  thorough  plan  of  working  relations,  and  both  are  sure  to  suffer 
when  competition  and  a  working  at  cross-purposes  exist.  Just  how 
far  we  should  expect  to  go  in  cooperation,  and  how  far  each  school 
should  maintain  its  individuality  and  independence,  may  be  a  ques¬ 
tion.  Some  union  conferences  may  find  it  possible  to  carry  this  co¬ 
operation  farther  than  others,  but  I  believe  that  experience  has  taught 
us  that  there  should,  in  all  cases,  be  cooperation  in  the  matter  of  (i) 
uniform  courses,  (2)  inspection  of  the  work  done  by  the  academies, 
and  (3)  the  number  of  grades  to  be  offered  by  the  academies.  To 
these  might  be  added  such  minor  items  as  cooperative  advertising 
and  uniformity  of  tuition  rates. 

It  is  quite  self-evident  that,  even  if  we  cannot  hold  the  whole 
denomination  in  line  with  respect  to  uniform  studies,  the  educational 
unit  which  we  find  quite  complete  in  each  union  conference  certainly 
ought  to  be  held  to  a  strict  uniformity  in  studies  offered  in  the  differ¬ 
ent  grades.  If  both  college  and  academy  are  offering  ninth  and  tenth 
grades,  these  grades  should  be  uniform  in  subject  matter,  textbooks, 
and  in  the  ground  covered,  so  that  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  pass¬ 
ing  a  student  from  one  school  to  another.  Our  people  have  had  abun¬ 
dant  reason  for  protesting  against  our  lack  of  uniformity  in  the  past. 
It  is  true  that  we  have  improved  much  in  this  respect,  but  we  have 
not  yet  attained  perfection. 

By  inspection  of  the  work  done  by  the  academies,  I  refer  to  the 
responsibility  which  quite  naturally  rests  upon  the  college,  of  seeing 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


57 


that  the  standard  of  work  done  in  the  academies  is  equal  to  that 
which  has  been  adopted  by  the  denomination.  This  may  be  done  by 
visiting  the  academies,  and  making  investigation  of  the  work  done; 
or  by  heads  of  departments  in  the  college  passing  on  the  work  done 
by  the  students  from  these  academies,  as  they  enter  the  college;  or 
by  gathering  information  concerning  the  work  of  the  lower  schools  by 
correspondence.  To  some  extent,  we  have  used  all  three  methods. 

But  I  suppose  the  most  important  question  in  the  working  relation 
between  the  two  classes  of  schools,  and  that  which  the  committee 
had  in  mind  when  this  subject  was  assigned  me,  is  the  question  of 
the  number  of  grades  to  be  offered  by  the  academies.  And  since  the 
subject,  as  it  was  originally  assigned,  included  the  “Lake  Union  Con¬ 
ference  plan,  its  merits  and  demerits,”  I  will  state  briefly  the  history 
of  the  case  in  our  union  conference. 

During  the  past  seven  years  it  has  been  quite  clearly  understood  in 
our  union  that  the  academies  should  carry  the  first  ten  grades,  and 
the  college  the  higher  grades.  This  plan,  for  several  reasons  that  I 
will  state  later,  has  not  been  altogether  satisfactory  to  the  academies. 

Three  possible  means  of  solution  are  offered:  First,  that  the  acad¬ 
emies  offer  only  ten  grades,  and  in  return  the  college  do  not  receive 
non-resident  students  in  these  grades  unless  recommended  by  the 
local  conference  president.  This  is  the  plan  on  which  we  have  been 
operating.  Second,  that  the  academies  offer  twelve  grades,  and  the 
college  receive  non-resident  students  only  above  these  grades.  Third, 
that  the  academies  offer  twelve  grades,  and  the  college  receive  all 
students  who  wish  to  come,  in  any  and  all  grades. 

The  objection  to  the  last  plan  is  the  fact  that  this  would  develop 
a  sharp  competition  and  rivalry  between  the  two  schools,  since  both 
would  be  bidding  for  the  same  students.  To  make  this  plan  really 
work  out  justly,  the  college  should  have  the  privilege  of  sending  its 
representatives  to  visit  the  churches  and  camp  meetings.  Yet  this 
would  be  quite  sure  to  result  in  misunderstandings  and  suspicions. 
It  would  probably  result  in  discouragement  to  the  young  people,  for 
con'radictory  advice  would  be  given  them  by  the  educational  workers 
from  the  different  schools.  There  would  be  a  strong  tendency,  also, 
for  the  students  from  the  different  schools  to  speak  disparagingly  of 
the  rival  school,  and  thus  result  in  tearing  down  our  educational  work, 
rather  than  building  it  up.  In  some  cases  the  representative  of  the 
college  might  even  be  unwelcome  at  the  camp  meetings  and  in  visiting 
the  academies.  Much  better  a  mutual  understanding  with  respect 
to  where  the  work  of  one  school  begins  and  that  of  the  other  ends, 
even  though  that  understanding  be  not  altogether  ideal  or  satisfac¬ 
tory,  than  to  have  rivalry  and  working  at  cross-purposes. 


58 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


So  the  question  resolves  itself  into  whether  the  academies  are  to 
conduct  ten  grades,  and  be  protected  by  the  college  in  doing  so;  or 
to  conduct  twelve  grades,  without  competition  by  the  college. 

The  principal  reasons  urged  by  the  academy  men  for  a  change 
from  ten  to  twelve  grades  were  these:  — 

1.  We,  the  academies,  are  now  better  manned  and  equipped  to 
do  eleventh-  and  twelfth-grade  work  than  before. 

2.  Our  students  are  so  young  that  it  is  almost  impossible  for  us 
to  conduct  our  schools  satisfactorily.  If  we  can  have  two  addi¬ 
tional  grades,  this  condition  can  be  remedied,  because  we  will  have 
older  students. 

3.  More  students  would  have  the  benefit  of  a  twelfth-grade  edu¬ 
cation  than  can  get  it  now,  because  of  the  additional  expense  of  going 
to  the  college  for  the  last  two  grades. 

It  is  only  fair  that  we  should  admit  that  there  is  truth  in  these 
contentions.  Our  academies  are  better  manned  and  equipped  than 
they  were  eight  or  ten  years  ago,  and  they  are  much  better  able  to 
carry  on  advanced  work  now  than  they  were  then;  yet  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  we  should  find  it  quite  a  problem  to  equip  our  acade¬ 
mies  and  find  competent  teachers  to  do  good  work,  for  instance,  in 
such  subjects  as  physics,  German,  and  Latin.  Real  skill  is  necessary 
in  teaching  a  student  who  is  just  beginning  the  study  of  a  foreign 
language,  and  successful  science  teachers  certainly  are  not  plentiful. 
I  question  whether  we  would  have  a  sufficient  number  of  strong 
teachers  to  go  around.  Our  language  teachers  have  complained  bit¬ 
terly  of  the  inefficiency  in  the  work  previously  done. 

Perhaps  it  is  true  that  younger  students  are  admitted  to  our  acad¬ 
emies  than  formerly,  yet  I  believe  that  the  experience  of  the  past 
school  year  has  convinced  many  of  our  academy  teachers  that  they 
had  been  unduly  alarmed  concerning  this  problem.  As  I  visited  our 
academies  this  year,  I  saw  very  little,  if  any,  difference  in  the  average 
age  of  the  student  bodies.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  for  some 
years  to  come  there  will  always  be  older  students  coming  in  to  the 
academies  to  take  eighth-,  ninth-,  and  tenth-grade  work. 

To  my  mind,  the  strongest  argument  presented  by  our  academy 
men,  is  the  contention  that,  if  each  of  the  academies  conducted  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth  grades,  more  students  would  be  securing  the 
training  in  these  grades  than  do  now.  We  must  concede  that  this  is 
true.  While  five  or  six  schools  in  different  parts  of  the  union  confer¬ 
ence  offer  these  grades,  there  are  sure  to  be  more  students  enrolled 
in  them  than  when  only  one  school  conducts  these  grades.  How¬ 
ever,  if  all  our  academies  should  offer  these  two  grades,  it  would  cer¬ 
tainly  increase  the  financial  problems  of  both  our  academies  and  the 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


59 


college;  for,  instead  of  equipping  one  school  to  do  this  work,  we  would 
have  to  equip  six;  instead  of  paying  the  salaries  of  teachers  in  one 
school,  we  would  have  to  pay  the  salaries  of  teachers  in  six  schools. 
And,  furthermore,  it  would  cause  the  college  to  lose  a  large  number 
of  students,  for  I  think  that  it  is  still  true  that  in  most,  if  not  all, 
of  our  colleges  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  grades  are  the  financial  back¬ 
bone  of  the  school.  These  are  our  large  grades.  These  are  the 
grades  in  which  the  minimum  of  expense  produces  the  maximum  of 
financial  support.  And  if  the  attendance  in  these  grades  should  be 
weakened,  our  colleges  would  be  seriously  crippled.  In  fact,  we 
estimate  that  at  Emmanuel  Missionary  College  it  would  mean  a  loss 
of  from  three  to  four  thousand  dollars  a  year,  and  to  a  school  that 
is  barely  paying  its  running  expenses,  this  would  be  a  staggering  loss. 

At  best,  it  seems  that  in  this  question  there  is  a  conflict  of  interest 
between  the  two  schools.  The  gain  of  one  would  seem  to  mean  a 
loss  to  the  other.  In  other  words,  our  constituency  seems  neither 
large  enough  nor  strong  enough  to  conduct,  successfully,  a  number 
of  twelve-grade  academies,  and  at  the  same  time  support  a  college. 
Hence,  in  the  Lake  Union  Conference,  it  became  apparent  that  we 
must  choose  between  having  ten-grade  academies  and  a  college,  or 
twelve-grade  academies  and  either  a  weak  college  or  none  at  all. 
The  plan  finally  adopted  by  the  Lake  Union  Conference  Committee, 
in  counsel  with  representatives  of  the  North  American  Division,  is 
given  in  the  following  resolution,  which  was  passed  at  the  council 
held  at  Berrien  Springs  last  summer:  — 

“  Whereas,  Our  educational  work  in  this  union  conference  needs 
strengthening  and  support,  that  the  schools  we  already  have  may  be 
filled,  and  the  conferences  not  become  further  involved  financially; 
therefore,  we  recommend  the  following:  — 

“That  the  academies  confine  their  work  to  ten  grades,  with  the 
privilege  of  giving  three  electives  from  the  eleventh  grade  to  those 
students  not  having  completed  the  tenth  grade.” 

This  resolution  was  adopted  with  the  understanding  that  non¬ 
resident  students  who  had  not  completed  the  tenth  grade  be  expected 
to  attend  the  academies,  and  should  not  come  to  the  college  without 
a  recommendation  from  the  local  conference  president. 

This  is  where  we  now  stand,  but  we  are  all  looking  forward  to  the 
time  when  our  financial  burdens  will  have  been  lightened,  and  when  our 
constituency  will  have  become  sufficiently  strong  in  numbers  and  in 
interest  in  Christian  education  to  make  it  possible  for  us  to  reach 
the  ideal  of  the  academies  conducting  twelve  grades,  and  the  college 
giving  its  attention  largely  if  not  wholly  to  college  work.  That  this 
day  may  hasten,  is  the  earnest  hope  and  prayer  of  the  representatives 
of  both  the  college  and  the  academies. 


GO 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


DISCUSSION 

C.  W.  Irwin:  I  believe  that  the  problem  is  different  in  each  union 
conference.  In  the  Pacific  Union  Conference  we  have  two  twelve- 
grade  academies,  one  ten-grade  school  in  Arizona,  and  another  in 
prospect  for  the  State  of  Nevada.  Then  we  have  various  ten-grade 
day  schools.  But  we  have  only  two  twelve-grade  and  two  ten-grade 
academies.  In  this  discussion  we  need  to  consider  only  the  two  twelve- 
grade  academies, —  one  in  San  Fernando,  the  other  in  Lodi. 

We  have  six  conferences  in  California.  The  San  Fernando  Acad¬ 
emy  is  the  twelve-grade  academy  for  the  Southwestern  and  Southern 
Conferences;  the  Lodi  Academy  draws  students  in  the  Central  and 
Northern  California  Conferences;  and  the  Academic  Department  of 
the  Pacific  Union  College  is  .supposed  to  solicit  students  in  the  Cali¬ 
fornia  Conference,  which  is  the  Coast  conference  below  San  Francisco, 
and  the  Northwestern  California  Conference,  the  one  in  which  the 
college  is  situated. 

If  we  had  enough  college  students,  and  could  get  to  the  point 
where  we  were  soliciting  only  college  students  throughout  the  field, 
we  should  be  glad;  but  we  are  not  in  that  position  as  yet.  The  Lodi 
Academy  has  the  right  to  solicit  any  tenth-grade  students  in  this 
conference,  and  also  in  the  California  Conference. 

We  have  various  plans  in  view.  We  have  been  trying  to  affiliate 
to  the  best  of  our  ability,  and  we  seem  to  be  getting  nearer  to  it  all 
the  time.  We  have  had  a  number  of  hitches  over  this  matter,  but 
we  have  all  tried  to  keep  sweet,  and  we  hope  to  arrive  at  a  plan  that 
will  be  entirely  satisfactory  to  all  parties  concerned. 

We  have  been  making  the  experiment,  in  this  union  conference, 
of  having  what  we  called  the  affiliated  calendar.  The  Lodi  Academy 
was  affiliated  with  the  Pacific  Union  College  last  year,  and  both  were 
represented  in  the  same  calendar.  This  year  we  decided,  as  far  as 
the  college  was  concerned,  that  it  was  willing  to  continue  the  plan, 
provided  San  Fernando  Academy  would  join  us;  but  if  they  did  not 
see  fit  to  do  so,  we  would  discontinue  the  plan  with  Lodi,  and  each  put 
out  its  own  calendar.  But  San  Fernando  has  decided  to  come  in  on 
the  proposition. 

In  this  calendar  we  shall  first  set  forth  some  general  principles, 
general  rules  and  regulations,  which  we  believe  will  be  applicable  in 
all  the  academies.  That  will  be  the  first  thing  in  the  calendar. 
After  that  we  shall  take  up  the  description  of  the  courses  of  study 
in  the  college,  in  San  Fernando  Academy,  and  in  Lodi  Academy. 

Now,  we  are  not  going  to  give  our  oath  that  we  will  continue  this 
policy,  but  we  will  try  it  out  completely  this  year,  and  see  how  it 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


61 


works.  There  may  be  two  sides  to  the  question.  I  do  not  know  but 
the  academies  have  felt  that  the  calendar  going  out  in  this  way  would 
advertise  the  college  as  much  as  it  does  the  academies,  or  a  little 
more.  On  the  other  hand,  when  we  send  out  a  college  calendar,  we 
are  advertising  the  academies.  It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the 
situation  is  not  about  as  long  as  it  is  broad. 

Now,  in  reference  to  financial  management  and  policy:  Last  year 
the  Pacific  Union  College  Association  —  the  legal  association  which 
owns  this  institution  —  took  over  the  Lodi  Academy,  and  the  college 
board  is  the  board  of  that  academy.  I  am  not  sure  but  the  con¬ 
stituency  of  the  San  Fernando  Academy  has  voted  to  do  the  same; 
hasn’t  it,  Brother  Andross? 

E.  E.  Andross:  They  have  expressed  their  willingness  to  do  that 
on  condition  that  the  name  of  the  association  be  changed. 

C.  W.  Irwin:  If  that  is  carried  out,  then  the  academies  will  be 
owned  by  the  same  corporation  or  management,  and  each  will  have 
a  local  board  to  attend  to  local  conditions. 

I  think  that  this  coming  year  we  shall  publish  practically  the  same 
course  of  study;  so  we  feel  that  we  are  making  progress  toward  the 
solution  of  this  problem.  But  I  do  not  believe  that  any  absolute, 
iron-clad  rule  can  be  laid  down  regarding  this  matter  of  attendance 
at  the  various  schools.  There  are  conditions  sometimes  where  a 
student  desires  to  attend  a  certain  school.  I  remember  we  had  a 
student  who  had  been  attending  our  school,  but  for  a  certain  reason 
he  wanted  to  attend  the  Lodi  Academy,  and  went  over  there.  When 
I  found  it  out,  I  did  not  say  anything  to  him.  We  had  a  student  with 
us  last  year  who  took  a  notion  he  would  attend  San  Fernando  Acad¬ 
emy,  and  he  went  away  down  to  Southern  California  to  attend  that 
academy. 

There  are  sometimes  reasons  why  a  student  wishes  to  attend  a 
certain  school.  He  may  be  acquainted  with  some  members  of  the 
faculty,  or  he  may  have  relatives  in  the  place.  It  seems  to  me  there 
must  be  a  certain  amount  of  latitude  given  in  this  matter.  We  have 
felt  that  we  have  never  lost  anything  by  allowing  that. 

When  we  go  out  to  the  camp  meetings,  we  try  not  to  urge  a  stu¬ 
dent  unduly  to  come  to  this  school,  or  to  attend  any  particular  school. 
Sometimes  we  meet  a  student  who  says,  “I  am  going  to  such-and- 
such  a  college  next  year.”  “Very  well,  that  is  all  right.  *Go  ahead, 
and  the  Lord  be  with  you.  I  hope  you  will  have  a  profitable  year.” 
We  have  found  that  we  have  better  results  in  following  that  policy. 
What  could  we  say?  We  could  not  tell  him  he  ought  to  attend  our 
college  without  saying  something  against  that  other  school,  and  we 
have  thought  it  a  better  policy  not  to  do  that.  If  I  bring  undue  pres- 


62 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


sure  upon  a  student  who  has  already  set  his  mind  on  another  school, 
he  comes  here  with  his  eyes  open  to  see  everything  that  is  wrong; 
while  if  he  comes  voluntarily,  and  knows  that  he  can  go  elsewhere  if 
he  wishes,  he  is  apt  to  affiliate  with  the  school  in  spirit,  and  will  be 
a  help. 

This  is  the  policy  that  we  are  endeavoring  to  follow  in  the  affilia¬ 
tion  of  our  schools,  in  regard  to  the  matter  of  soliciting  students. 
As  I  stated  this  afternoon,  I  believe  that  each  school  ought  to  be  mag¬ 
netic  in  its  influence.  If  it  cannot  draw  students,  it  would  be  better 
for  them  to  go  elsewhere.  I  mean  by  that,  it  should  build  up  a  strong 
teaching  force,  should  offer  good  board  and  good  facilities,  and  should 
exert  a  strong  spiritual  influence. 

Our  difficulty  of  late  in  this  union  conference,  owing  to  some  con¬ 
ditions,  has  been  this:  The  union  conference  has  put  up  the  bars  against 
the  college  for  the  last  year  or  so;  and  I  approve  of  that  plan.  Some 
of  our  students  have  reasoned  like  this:  The  rates  are  about  the  same 
in  the  college  as  they  are  in  the  academy,  and  I  might  as  well  go  to 
the  college,  as  it  will  cost  no  more.  So  of  late  we  have  had  to  put 
up  a  barrier  on  the  other  side  in  this  union  conference.  The  academies 
ought  to  draw  the  academic  students,  and  I  think  they  are  doing  that. 
I  look  for  this  coming  year  to  be  the  most  ideal  year  that  we  have 
ever  had  in  the  matter  of  attraction  of  students  to  the  proper  places. 

When  we  go  out  to  a  camp  meeting,  at  the  present  time,  the  rep¬ 
resentatives  of  all  the  schools  unite,  perhaps  all  together  in  one  tent, 
and  have  our  calendars  there.  When  we  find  students  who  ought 
to  go  to  the  academy,  wre  turn  them  over  to  the  academy;  and  vice 
versa.  This  is  productive  of  a  good  spirit. 

F.  Griggs:  Professor  Howell  wants  an  explanation  of  the  barrier. 

C.  W.  Irwin:  Last  year  the  rule  was  passed  by  the  union  confer¬ 
ence  that  this  school  should  draw  all  the  students  from  the  eleventh 
and  twelfth  grades,  or  from  the  eleventh  grade  up,  in  what  is  now 
the  California,  the  Northwestern  and  Northern,  and  the  Central 
Conferences.  Now  we  have  only  two  of  those  conferences,  that  is, 
the  other  two  have  been  turned  over  to  Lodi  Academy,  so  that  cuts 
down  our  constituency. 

Another  thought :  I  rerpember  a  few  years  ago,  when  I  was  at  home 
in  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio  (I  am  a  graduate  of  the  Mount  Vernon  high 
school),  I  went  in  to  see  the  high  school,  and  I  noticed  in  the  main 
entrance  of  the  corridor  the  pictures  of  various  colleges.  Represent¬ 
atives  of  leading  Eastern  colleges  had  evidently  visited  that  hall  and 
put  up  pictures  of  their  colleges.  It  seems  to  me  it  would  be  a  good 
thing  for  our  academies  to  have  the  pictures  of  our  colleges  hanging 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


63 


up  in  their  buildings.  Then  the  students  will  understand  that  when 
they  have  finished  there  is  a  place  where  they  may  go  and  continue 
their  studies. 

It  has  been  demonstrated  in  this  union  conference  that  it  does 
not  pay  to  have  friction.  The  school  that  starts  to  find  fault  with 
the  other  schools  has  in  the  end  come  out  the  worse  for  it;  therefore 
we  have  tried  to  inculcate  the  spirit  of  amicable  relationship 
throughout. 

I  may  say  in  line  with  what  Professor  Graf  has  said,  that  our 
heaviest  grade  is  the  eleventh  grade.  I  suppose  it  would  take  four 
or  five  thousand  dollars  out  of  the  school  if  we  had  to  lose  that  grade. 
We  are  glad  it  is  that  way,  it  shows  that  the  ninth  and  tenth  grades 
are  being  accommodated  elsewhere.  We  do  not  wish  to  draw  them 
any  more  than  we  are  obliged  to. 

E.  E.  Andross:  I  might  make  one  suggestion  further  with  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  solicitation  of  students.  Our  plan  here  is  that  in  each  of 
the  camp  meetings  all  those  who  desire  to  attend  our  schools  hand 
their  names  to  the  educational  secretary  of  the  union;  then  those 
who  should  go  to  the  local  school  are  turned  over  to  the  principal 
of  the  academy,  and  those  who  should  attend  the  college  are  turned 
over  to  the  college.  The  secretary  is  supposed  to  be  impartial  in 
the  distribution  of  these  names,  and  in  that  way  we  have  a  fairly 
equitable  plan.  No  friction  that  I  know  of  has  come  up.  We  have 
only  one  tent  representing  our  school  work  in  each  camp  meeting. 
The  affiliated  calendars  are  there,  and  the  students  may  be  seen  by 
any  of  the  school  men.  And  yet  the  students  are  supposed  to  see  the 
educational  secretary  before  they  go  to  the  college  president,  when 
they  are  in  the  territory  of  the  academies. 

C.  A.  Russell:  I  admit  that  Professor  Graf  has  given  a- very  fair 
presentation  of  the  situation  as  we  have  it  in  that  union  conference. 
We  have  problems, —  there  is  no  question  about  that.  There  is  al¬ 
ways  more  than  one  side  to  a  question.  I  should  have  been  very 
much  pleased  to  have  some  of  the  tenth-grade  principals  present,  for  I 
think  the  discussion  here  would  have  brought  a  better  understanding. 

One  argument  that  has  been  used  quite  often  in  our  conference 
in  reference  to  these  tenth-grade  schools,  has  by  the  actual  condition 
of  affairs  this  year  proved  to  be  no  argument  at  all.  That  is  this:  — 

It  has  been  contended  that  it  was  impossible  for  tenth-grade 
schools  to  be  operated  on  that  policy.  But  I  believe  that  the  mat¬ 
ter  depends  on  the  way  the  field  is  worked.  One  of  our  fields,  and 
that  with  not  a  large  constituency,  has  been  worked  so  thoroughly 
that  the  school  is  filled  to  its  capacity.  They  enrolled  more  than  one 


64 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


hundred  students,  and  they  have  a  balance  on  the  right  side  of  their 
operating  expenses.  Another  school,  with  a  constituency  practically 
the  same,  has  struggled  along  with  less  than  half  as  many  students. 
I  can  see  no  reason,  except  that  they  have  not  used  personal  solici¬ 
tation  or  the  card  system  or  correspondence  to  the  extent  that  they 
have  in  the  other  place.  “Nothing  succeeds  like  success.”  It  is  the 
big  thing  over  there.  Everybody  is  talking  up  the  school  there,  from 
the  conference  president  down  to  the  laity.  The  ministers  are  told 
not  to  leave  a  single  church  that  they  visit,  without  presenting  some¬ 
thing  with  reference  to  Christian  education,  and  they  are  all  working 
for  the  school.  I  believe  that  should  be  the  case  everywhere.  We 
have  enough  students  over  there  to  fill  every  academy. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  BUSINESS  EFFICIENCY  AND 
THE  PROPER  FINANCING  OF 
OUR  SCHOOLS 

h.  A.  morrison,  President  of  Union  College 

I  desire  to  call  attention  to  a  few  of  the  lessons  we  can  gain  from 
the  experience  of  men  in  the  business  world.  Some  fifty  years  ago 
there  were  very  few  business  houses  that  were  really  organized  to  do 
the  most  service  at  the  least  cost  and  effort.  Gradually  the  business 
world  has  been  convinced  of  the  need  of  very  systematic  work,  in 
order  to  give  a  critical  public  satisfaction  and  at  the  same  time  to 
earn  a  pleasing  dividend  for  the  stockholder. 

Many  of  the  business  firms  of  today  have  their  system  down  to  a 
science,  and  others  are  rapidly  bringing  in  experts  to  study  their  con¬ 
ditions  and  their  needs,  in  order  that  their  work  may  produce  the 
best  possible  results  for  the  time,  money,  and  effort  put  into  it. 

True  Economy 

Refusing  to  spend  money  for  that  which  is  useful  and  needful, 
and  for  that  which  will  play  an  important  part  in  increasing  the  effi¬ 
ciency  of  the  school,  is  not  economy;  on  the  other  hand,  the  expend¬ 
iture  of  money  in  a  loose  and  unsystematic  manner,  even  for  improve¬ 
ments  which  appear  very  necessary,  is  waste  and  extravagance. 

In  the  great  majority  of  cases  the  difference  between  the  business 
house  which  fails  and  the  one  which  succeeds  is  very,  very  small  on 
each  particular  item.  The  reduction,  or  its  lack,  of  even  a  small 
fraction  of  a  cent  on  each  article,  is  the  element  that  will  make  or  break 
any  business  firm. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


65 


The  world  has  learned  that  it  cannot  get  the  greatest  amount  or 
best  quality  of  work  from  employees  who  are  not  surrounded  with 
comfortable  and  inviting  places  in  which  to  work,  and  who  are  not 
able  to  furnish  themselves  with  comfortable  homes.  Neither  does 
it  pay  to  so  overload  a  man  with  work  that  he  is  under  constant 
strain  and  perplexity.  Any  of  these  things  will  hinder  a  man  from 
doing  his  best  and  most  efficient  work. 

Lift  the  Reproach  of  Debt 

As  a  denomination,  I  feel  that  we  have  erred  in  this  latter  mat¬ 
ter,  and  if  there  is  a  department  in  which  this  mistake  has  occurred 
more  frequently  than  in  another,  it  is  in  our  educational  system. 
Our  publishing  houses  have  been  organized  according  to  business 
principles.  They  have  given  great  care  to  the  efficiency  of  their 
employees  and  their  plants.  They  are  also  giving  considerable  con¬ 
sideration  to  the  principles  stated  above.  I  feel  that  in  these  re¬ 
spects  our  publishing  houses  are  far  in  advance  of  our  educational  in¬ 
stitutions,  that  in  fact  we  are  at  the  very  bottom  of  the  ladder  in  this 
particular. 

Perhaps  this  is  because  the  school  is  not  looked  upon  as  a  business 
concern.  We  seem  to  forget  that  though  the  college  or  academy 
cannot  be  a  money  maker,  it  can  very  easily  become  a  money  sinker. 
But  even  this  is  not  the  greatest  consideration;  for  the  lack  of  proper 
and  systematic  and  efficient  management  not  only  shows  in  the  col¬ 
umns  of  dollars  and  cents,  but  also  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the 
salvation  of  our  young  men  and  women  and  their  preparation  for 
work  on  the  frontier. 

If  men  of  the  world  can  spend  time  and  effort  in  organizing  and 
systematizing  their  business  in  order  that  they  may  accumulate  dol¬ 
lars  for  themselves  and  for  others,  certainly  we  ought  to  be  willing 
to  spend  the  proper  time  and  effort  in  organizing  and  equipping  our 
schools  in  such  a  manner  that  their  financial  problems  will  not  be  a 
hindrance  to  the  development  of  the  great  work  for  which  they  were 
established. 

The  annual  income  to  these  institutions  totals  more  than  $400,000. 
To  carry  forward  the  work  in  them  necessitates  the  employment  ol 
from  six  hundred  to  seven  hundred  men  and  women,  aside  from 
student  employees. 

As  a  denomination,  we  are  undertaking  to  operate  and  manage 
a  school  system  entirely  self-supporting,  a  task  that  has  never  been 
accomplished  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned,  by  any  man  or 
group  of  men.  In  the  first  place,  our  schools,  as  a  whole,  are  under  a 


5 


66 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


heavy  burden  of  debt.  There  seems  to  be  no  hope  of  relieving  the 
congestion  and  the  circumscribed  conditions  until  all  the  hampering 
influence  of  this  enemy  of  progress  has  been  removed.  Therefore, 
the  movements  on  foot  to  rid  our  colleges  and  academies  from  this 
evil,  have  not  been  started  too  soon. 

Every  conference,  every  member  of  the  constituency  in  any  school 
district,  should  at  this  time  put  forth  every  possible  effort  to  lift  this 
reproach  of  debt  from  every  educational  institution  not  later  than 
Jan.  i,  1917.  This  being  done,  if  every  one  does  his  duty  and  senses 
the  great  responsibility  that  our  schools  have  in  training  our  young 
people  for  life  and  service,  we  shall  be  able  to  look  into  the  future 
with  encouragement,  and  with  the  assurance  that  we  are  in  a  posi¬ 
tion  to  do  the  work  that  God  has  designed  we  should  do. 

More  Liberal  Efforts  for  the  Young 

Our  people  should  be  led  to  understand  that  the  possibilities  of 
advancing  our  message  and  spreading  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom 
into  all  the  world  in  this  generation  lie  in  our  college  halls.  God  has 
recognized  this  principle  and  fact,  in  giving  us  continued  instruction 
in  regard  to  the  building  up  of  our  school  system.  Note  the  follow¬ 
ing  in  particular:  — 

“As  a  church,  as  individuals,  if  we  would  stand  clear  in  the  judg¬ 
ment,  we  must  make  more  liberal  efforts  for  the  training  of  our  young 
people,  that  they  may  be  better  fitted  for  the  various  branches  of  the 
great  work  committed  to  our  hands.  We  should  lay  wise  plans,  in 
order  that  the  ingenious  minds  of  those  who  have  talent  may  be 
strengthened  and  disciplined,  and  polished  after  the  highest  order, 
that  the  work  of  Christ  may  not  be  hindered  for  lack  of  skillful  labor¬ 
ers,  who  will  do  their  work  with  earnestness  and  fidelity.” — “Coun¬ 
sels  to  Teachers ,”  page  43. 

“There  is  no  work  more  important  than  the  education  of  our 
youth.  .  .  .  Our  brethren  and  sisters  should  be  thankful  that  in  the 
providence  of  God  our  colleges  have  been  established,  and  should 
stand  ready  to  sustain  them  by  their  means.” —  Id.,  page  46. 

As  school  men,  we  must  so  conduct  our  schools  that  they  them¬ 
selves  will  be  a  convincing  power  to  the  conferences  and  to  the  laity, 
that  they  will  prepare  men  and  women  efficiently  for  evangelistic 
and  mission  work.  It  is  of  the  highest  importance  that  we  conduct 
our  schools  in  harmony  with  the  instruction  given  us  through  the 
spirit  of  prophecy.  It  is  only  by  giving  careful  heed  to  the  princi¬ 
ples  there  laid  down  that  we  can  expect  to  finance  our  school  system 
adequately  with  the  means  available  among  Seventh-day  Adventists. 


COUNCIL  PEOCEEDINGS 


67 


Educate  for  Evangelistic  Work 

For  years  it  has  been  necessary  for  the  men  and  women  trained  in 
our  colleges  to  be  used  in  manning  our  institutions  and  offices.  We 
have  just  passed  a  period  of  tremendous  institutional  growth,  the 
building  up  of  much  machinery;  and  now,  since  it  is  felt  that  our 
needs  in  this  direction  are  fully  met,  we  can  give  our  time  and  effort 
to  turning  out  the  real  product,  instead  of  to  the  manufacturing  of 
new  machines.  In  other  words,  I  believe  that  the  day  and  hour  has 
come  when  the  chief  work  of  all  our  colleges  should  be  to  prepare 
men  and  women  for  evangelistic  work.  I  believe  that  this  spirit  is 
rapidly  coming  into  our  institutions,  that  the  great  majority  of  our 
college  men  are  preparing  for  the  ministry,  and  that  the  young  women 
are  planning  for  church  school,  Bible,  and  mission  work.  Our  acad¬ 
emies  also  have  a  great  responsibility  in  this  direction.  While  it  is 
not  their  place  to  complete  the  training  of  young  men  and  women  for 
this  work,  they  should  use  all  their  influence  to  direct  the  youth  to 
prepare  for  these  lines  of  missionary  effort. 

If  therefore  our  schools  are  the  home  end  of  the  foreign  mission 
work,  it  does  not  seem  to  me  out  of  the  way  to  suggest  that  we  continue 
raising  the  Twenty-cent-a-week  Fund  for  missions,  even  after  all  debts 
are  paid;  and  that  we  use  the  five  cents  that  has  been  going  to  pay 
the  debt,  for  the  better  equipping  of  our  educational  institutions  and 
for  doing  all  that  is  necessary  to  increase  their  efficiency,  and  in 
addition,  if  possible,  to  assist  worthy  young  people  in  obtaining  a  col¬ 
lege  education. 

The  average  cost  of  a  high  school  education  in  the  State  of  Nebraska 
.is  $85  a  year  per  student.  College  education  is  necessarily  more 
expensive  than  academic  or  high  school.  But  even  using  the  figures 
of  the  high  school,  we  would  face  a  deficit  of  $30  or  $40  a  year  for 
each  student  on  tuition  alone.  The  conduct  of  a  dormitory  on  the 
basis  of  charge  we  make,  is  an  even  more  difficult  problem.  Accord¬ 
ing  to  the  above  figures,  a  college  with  300  students  would  have  a 
deficit  of  from  $10,000  to  $12,000  each  year  on  tuition. 

Strengthen  Our  Base  of  Supply 

We  cannot  afford  to  hamper  and  cheapen  the  training  of  the  men 
and  women  who  are  preparing  for  the  important  work  of  dissemi¬ 
nating  this  message.  We  cannot  expect  to  wither  and  stunt  the  germ 
in  the  seed,  and  still  reap  a  bountiful  harvest.  A  little  of  the  wither¬ 
ing  and  stunting  at  the  base  of  supply  means  disastrous  results  to  the 
product,  and  to  efficiency  at  the  frontier.  A  few  dollars  spent  in 
increasing  the  efficiency  of  the  training  will  show  larger  and  larger 


68 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


as  we  radiate  from  the  center.  On  the  other  hand,  a  hampered,  in¬ 
efficient  preparation  shows  more  and  more  as  the  days  and  years  go 
by,  in  lack  of  ability  to  meet  the  needs. 

I  feel  that  it  is  indeed  a  very  conservative  request  to  ask  for  five 
cents  out  of  the  Twenty-cent-a-week  Fund,  after  our  debts  are  paid, 
for  the  development  of  our  schools.  The  money  thus  divided  would 
be  more  wisely  spent,  and  the  work  would  advance  much  more  rap¬ 
idly,  than  if  the  full  twenty  cents  were  sent  to  the  foreign  field,  and 
our  training  facilities  allowed  to  become  impoverished. 

Our  schools  in  general  have  been  in  dire  need  of  equipment,  im¬ 
provements,  and  repairs.  This  has  caused  many  to  attempt  to  meet 
the  situation  by  borrowing  money  and  adding  what  seemed  to  the 
managers  to  be  an  absolute  necessity.  While  I  hold  that  this  is  an 
entirely  wrong  policy,  yet  many  of  the  conditions  of  our  schools  have 
been  exceedingly  perplexing  and  trying.  As  managers  or  officers,  we 
should  plan  ahead  as  to  needed  equipment,  improvement,  or  repairs, 
then  go  to  the  people  and  raise  the  money  before  any  new  equipment 
is  arranged  for  or  purchased.  Also,  we  should  keep  a  close  watch  on 
our  expenses  during  the  year,  and  in  case  it  appears  we  are  going  to 
have  a  deficit  in  our  operating  account,  we  should  at  once  put  forth 
every  effort  to  meet  the  situation  without  incurring  debt,  either  by 
operating  more  economically  for  the  remainder  of  the  year,  or  by  going 
to  the  people  or  conferences  for  assistance.  It  is  only  under  very 
extreme  cases  that  such  a  circumstance  would  arise,  if  proper  foresigh 
and  care  were  used  in  making  the  plans  for  the  year. 

Make  Out  a  Budget 

Above  everything  else,  shun  debt  and  operate  our  schools  on  a  cash 
basis.  In  order  to  do  this,  it  will  be  necessary  in  laying  plans  for  the 
next  year  to  make  out  a  budget,  which  should  include  all  the  regular 
expenses  and  whatever  improvements  are  considered  necessary.  A 
conservative  estimate  of  the  income  for  the  year  should  be  made, 
and  in  case  it  appears  that  a  deficit  will  exist,  definite  plans  should 
be  made  at  that  time  to  raise  this  money  before  the  deficit  is  actually 
incurred.  Keeping  a  clean  slate  in  this  manner  will  do  a  great  deal 
toward  filling  our  people  with  courage  instead  of  weighing  them  down 
with  a  heavy  burden  of  debt. 

Increase  the  Attendance 

Another  very  vital  point  to  consider  in  connection  with  the  financ¬ 
ing  of  our  schools  is  the  attendance.  No  group  of  men  can  carry  on 
an  efficient  school  and  pay  its  bills  unless  the  school  has  an  attendance 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


(59 


commensurate  with  its  capacity.  While  it  may  be  that  the  majority 
of  our  schools  are  filled  to  their  convenient  capacity,  yet  here  is  a 
great  opportunity  for  the  field  worker  and  also  the  laity  to  assist  in 
the  financing  of  the  school.  This  matter  of  attendance  is  in  reality 
first  in  importance.  While  a  full  attendance  is  of  prime  necessity  as 
far  as  the  finances  of  the  school  are  concerned,  yet  the  attendance 
depends  largely  upon  several  of  the  elements  already  suggested. 

We  all  recognize  that  we  do  not  need  to  hold  out  the  financial  side 
in  urging  our  young  people  to  attend  the  denominational  school. 
The  reasons  for  doing  so  are  abundant,  and  far  above  this  in  impor¬ 
tance.  We  are,  however,  in  great  need  of  working  with  the  young 
people,  that  all  may  realize  their  need  of  an  education,  and  that 
those  who  have  no  conception  of  the  possibilities  before  them  may 
get  a  vision  of  the  important  work  that  would  be  theirs  if  only  they 
were  prepared  for  service.  There  are  large  numbers  of  young  men 
and  women  whose  eyes  should  be  opened  to  the  fact  that  they  them¬ 
selves  can  make  a  way  to  obtain  this  education. 

The  lack  of  permanency  in  the  make-up  of  the  faculties  and  offi¬ 
cers  of  our  schools  has  been  greatly  to  our  detriment  in  the  past.  I 
feel  that  we  have  made  some  improvement  in  this  respect  the  last  few 
years,  and  I  anticipate  seeing  a  continuation  of  this  improvement  in 
the  next  few  years.  This  continual  change  of  management,  together 
with  the  change  of  plans  that  goes  with  it,  has  been  one  of  the  most 
disastrous  features  in  the  financing  of  our  schools. 

The  Alumni  Can  Help 

In  the  colleges  that  are  old  enough  or  large  enough,  there  are 
great  possibilities  of  receiving  much  help  from  the  alumni.  An 
alumni  association  which  has  the  spirit  that  should  prevail  in  our 
schools  and  which  is  dominated  with  the  idea  of  assisting  the  alma 
mater  in  efficiency,  is  a  great  asset  to  an  institution.  Through  for¬ 
mer  students  and  alumni  a  great  work  can  be  accomplished,  not  only 
for  the  better  equipment  of  the  school,  but  also  by  bringing  young 
people  into  touch  with  the  possibilities  that  are  theirs. 

I  believe  that  much  might  be  done  to  save  in  our  expenses  if  our 
schools  were  more  closely  associated  together.  One  institution  is 
often  a  producer  of  a  product  of  which  another  institution  is  a  con¬ 
sumer.  One  is  selling  on  the  open  market  that  which  another  must 
go  to  the  market  and  purchase.  It  might  possibly  be  well  to  cooper¬ 
ate  for  our  purchases,  something  as  the  sanitariums  have  done;  or 
possibly  each  institution  could  reap  these  benefits  by  associating  itself 
with  the  sanitarium  in  its  respective  district. 


70 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Last  but  not  least,  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  that  those  who 
have  the  financing  of  our  institutions  should  live  very  near  to  God. 
As  we  have  had  our  minds  directed  to  the  work  of  George  Muller, 
and  recall  the  great  work  that  he  accomplished  through  prayer,  even 
to  the  establishing  and  financing  of  his  institutions,  it  ought  to  in¬ 
spire  us  with  greater  faith,  and  lead  us  to  take,  through  prayer,  a 
stronger  hold  on  him  who  is  the  possessor  of  the  gold  and  silver  and 
the  cattle  on  a  thousand  hills. 

DISCUSSION 

B.  F.  Machlan:  I  shall  not  undertake  to  add  anything  to  this 
most  excellent  paper.  There  have  been  many  ways  and  means  de¬ 
vised,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  in  the  first  place  there  can  be  only  one 
successful  way  of  conducting  an  institution,  and  that  is  to  keep  it 
above  debt,  to  make  it  safe,  as  it  were;  and  when  you  cannot  do  this, 
the  Lord  says  that  we  ought  to  act  like  sensible  business  men,  and 
close  up  such  an  institution. 

In  order  that  we  may  conduct  an  institution  without  debt,  it  is 
necessary  that  we  have  the  cooperation  of  the  constituency.  There 
is  nothing  that  brings  so  much  courage  and  so  much  interest  into  the 
minds  of  the  constituency,  as  to  know  that  the  institution  is  not  run¬ 
ning  behind.  Not  only  the  constituency  should  be  interested  and  their 
cooperation  sought,  but  teachers  and  students  may  well  be  inter¬ 
ested  in  their  institution. 

We  have  had  some  experiences  in  South  Lancaster  Academy  the 
last  two  or  three  years,  that  have  proved  that  it  is  the  proper  thing 
to  interest  our  teachers  in  the  financial  management  of  the  school. 
As  a  result,  our  teachers  and  students  have  in  the  last  two  years 
fitted  up  three  recitation  rooms  with  beautiful  furniture,  maps,  and 
other  necessaries  that  have  proved  a  great  blessing  to  the  institution. 
Not  only  have  they  done  this,  but  they  have  bought  a  balopticon  for 
the  use  of  the  science  department  and  one  for  the  history  depart¬ 
ment,  they  have  raised  a  part  of  the  money  to  buy  an  adding  ma¬ 
chine  for  the  commercial  department,  and  they  have  begun  to  furnish 
another  room  in  the  institution.  I  believe  that  the  experience  they 
have  had  in  this  way  will  be  useful  to  them  when  they  go  out  into 
the  work.  One  of  the  teachers  told  me,  after  they  were  through 
fitting  up  his  room  with  furniture,  maps,  and  balopticon,  "I  would 
not  take  anything  for  the  experience  I  have  had  in  this  work.”  He 
said,  ”1  expect  to  go  out  in  the  ministry  the  coming  year,  and  I  know 
the  experience  I  have  had  here  will  be  useful  to  me  in  whatever  line 
of  work  I  may  be  engaged.” 


-COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


71 


It  seems  to  me  that  we  all  ought  to  take  a  definite  interest  in  the 
twenty-cent-a-week  plan  that  has  been  mentioned.  The  world  has 
accepted  the  installment  plan,  and  a  large  per  cent  of  the  business 
of  the  world  today  is  done  on  that  plan.  That  proves  that  it  is  an 
efficient,  a  successful  way  to  do  business.  We  have  not  the  install¬ 
ment  plan,  but  we  have  a  systematic  giving  plan  which  is  very  much 
the  same,  and  it  has  proved  a  great  blessing  to  those  who  have  taken 
part  in  it.  More  than  fifteen  thousand  dollars  was  returned  to  us 
this  year,  and  there  has  been  started  a  campaign  in  our  union  that  we 
believe  will  meet  the  demand  that  our  brethren  who  preceded  myself 
made  upon  us,  that  we  ought  to  be  free  from  debt  by  1917. 

Permanency  in  management  has  been  touched  upon.  Certainly 
a  man  who  becomes  acquainted  with  the  business  men  in  a  certain 
section,  is  able  to  do  business  on  a  better  basis  than  the  one  who  is 
unacquainted.  He  learns  where  he  can  get  his  best  bargains  in 
every  line,  and  as  he  undertakes  the  work  of  furnishing  his  school, 
not  only  with  equipment,  but  with  the  necessary  food  and  furniture, 
he  has  many  advantages  over  the  one  who  comes  in  as  a  stranger. 
So  it  seems  to  me  that  this  is  a  matter  that  our  school  boards  might 
well  take  into  consideration. 

I  trust  that  it  will  not  be  longer  than  1917  until  our  schools  shall 
be  free  from  debt;  when  we  can  see  our  money  spent,  not  for  interest, 
but  for  equipment;  when  our  teachers  can  be  paid  the  year  around; 
when  they  can  spend  their  vacations  in  research  work  instead  of 
hunting  here  and  there  for  a  place  to  do  a  few  weeks’  work  until  the 
coming  year  opens.  I  trust  the  Lord  will  remove  from  us  the  reproach 
of  debt. 

I.  H.  Evans:  I  am  in  sympathy  with  the  paper,  and  in  sympathy 
with  the  discussion.  I  believe  both  the  paper  and  the  discussion 
have  struck  solid  bottom  on  which  we  ought  to  build  up  the  Lord’s 
work.  I  cannot  conceive  of  the  Lord  himself  approving  the  plan  of 
people  running  in  debt  and  borrowing  money  to  carry  on  his  work. 
He  who  has  declared  that  he  owns  the  gold  and  silver  and  .  that  all 
the  cattle  of  the  earth  are  his,  surely  cannot  want  his  people  to  be 
borrowing  money  to  carry  on  educational  work. 

From  what  has  been  done  the  past  year  I  am  thoroughly  convinced 
that  we  can  swing  all  our  institutions  out  of  debt  by  the  time  these 
brethren  have  said.  The  Pacific  Union  is  doing  splendidly,  for  a  long 
time  ago  it  had  passed  the  one-hundred-thousand-dollar  mark  in  do¬ 
nations  raised  in  cash  and  pledges  for  educational  indebtedness. 
The  Central  Union  Conference  is  striving  to  pull  itself  out,  and  I  am 
sure  it  will.  It  has  already  paid  about  thirty  thousand  dollars  during 
the  last  year.  The  president  of  the  Lake  Union  Conference  told  me 


72 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


a  week  ago  that  if  he  could  have  until  the  first  day  of  July,  1916,  he 
would  guarantee  that  every  debt  in  that  union  conference  would  be 
paid,  outside  of  what  is  owing  by  the  sanitarium.  Professor  Machlan 
has  spoken  of  the  effort  being  put  forth  by  the  Atlantic  Union  Confer¬ 
ence,  and  I  am  sure  that  they  will  succeed  in  wiping  out  the  indebted¬ 
ness  on  South  Lancaster  Academy.  Our  Northern  Union  Confer¬ 
ence  will  be  entirely  out  of  debt  this  fall.  The  Western  Canadian 
Union  is  already  out  of  debt. 

So,  brethren,  the  whole  field  looks  hopeful  to  me.  I  believe  our 
school  men  have  hold  of  the  true  principle,  and  are  standing  on  the 
firm  foundation, —  that  they  will  not  run  their  schools  into  debt.  I 
can  assure  them  of  my  hearty  sympathy,  and  I  shall  stand  by  every 
man  who  will  try  to  wipe  this  curse  off  from  the  people  of  God,  and 
remove  this  reproach;  for  I  believe  that  just  as  soon  as  we  can  liqui¬ 
date  our  indebtedness,  great  life  and  hope  and  good  cheer  will  come 
to  this  people,  and  the  work  will  bound  upward  and  forward  with  such 
an  impetus  as  we  have  never  known  before.  So,  brethren,  I  believe 
in  this  great  enterprise,  and  I  am  glad  to  hear  these  splendid  papers 
and  discussions.  I  know  that  the  blessing  of  God  will  follow  the  effort 
we  are  putting  forth. 

Dr.  M.  E.  Olsen:  I  am  very  much  interested  in  the  suggestion 
that  after  the  debts  are  paid  off,  the  five  cents  a  week  still  be  con¬ 
tinued,  to  provide  a  fund  for  the  equipment  of  our  schools.  I  do  think 
the  schools  need  better  equipment.  We  ought  so  to  equip  our  colleges 
that  our  boys  and  girls  can  do  thorough,  excellent  work. 

Furthermore,  it  seems  to  me,  in  asking  the  constituency  to  pay 
all  our  debt,  we  ought  to  remind  them,  perhaps,  that  the  reason  why 
we  have  these  debts  is  because  we  have  not  been  charging  enough  for 
delivering  the  goods.  If  a  grocer  should  sell  sugar  at  half  price,  he 
would  soon  be  in  debt.  Other  private  colleges  have  been  charging 
$100  a  year  for  tuition.  It  seems  to  me  a  very  fair  rate  for  a  college  to 
charge.  We  are  charging  about  $50  a  year  tuition,  and  I  am  only 
surprised  that  our  schools  have  not  gone  worse  in  debt. 

Then  there  are  our  boarding  schools.  We  charge  $150  or  $160 
for  board,  room,  washing,  etc.  Boarding  schools  conducted  by  other 
denominations,  without  one  bit  better  equipment  or  accommodations, 
charge  at  least  $300  a  year.  It  seems  to  me  that  we  ought  to  remind 
our  patrons  that  it  is  not  the  schools  that  are  at  fault,  but  that  they 
have  not  charged  enough. 

If  the  parents  and  students  will  continue  to  pay  five  cents  a  week 
to  help  us  equip  the  schools,  we  shall  all  be  satisfied,  and  I  believe 
we  shall  be  getting  good  value  for  our  money.  We  do  not  expect 
the  schools  in  India  and  China  to  be  fully  self-supporting.  Like- 


COUNCIL  PKOCEEDINGS 


73 


wise  in  this  country,  as  long  as  we  do  not  have  endowments,  we  must 
somehow  have  money  year  by  year  besides  the  money  that  comes 
in  from  tuitions,  if  we  are  going  to  have  good  schools  and  high 
standards. 

C.  W.  Irwin:  I  suppose  we  ought  to  make  an  apology  for  what 
we  have  done  in  our  work  here.  A  year  ago  this  last  fall,  when  we 
opened  with  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  more  students  than  the  year 
before, —  should  we  send  about  seventy-five  students  down  the  hill 
and  back  home,  or  what  should  we  do? 

Professor  Paap:  Send  them  to  Lodi. 

C.  W.  Irwin:  We  had  to  spend  two  thousand  dollars  for  furniture. 
Last  year  we  opened  with  the  same  condition,  and  we  had  to  spend 
another  thousand  dollars  for  furniture.  We  had  between  sixty  and 
seventy  taking  chemistry  this  year.  We  spent  about  twelve  hundred 
dollars  in  chemical  apparatus.  Yet  we  do  not  like  to  go  in  debt. 

Now  I  believe  that  as  managers  we  ought  to  be  held  responsible 
for  any  debt  that  comes  from  running  behind  in  operating,  but  I  do 
not  see  how  we  could  be  held  responsible  for  the  liabilities  caused  by 
increase  in  attendance.  We  could  not  ask  the  students  to  lie  on  the 
floor,  and  get  along  in  that  way  for  lack  of  furniture,  and  so  we  have 
had  to  do  some  of  these  things.  We  have  only  seventeen  hundred 
volumes  in  our  library,  and  we  ought  to  have  five  thousand,  according 
to  the  report. 

We  have  not  run  behind  as  far  as  our  operating  is  concerned. 
Every  dollar  of  increase  in  liability  is  offset  by  a  good  inventory. 
That  is  the  situation,  and  how  to  meet  it  has  been  the  question  with 
us.  Of  course,  we  have  hoped  that  we  could  raise  the  Hundred  and 
Fifty  Thousand  Dollar  Fund,  and  thus  wipe  out  the  indebtedness. 

We  have  furnished  students  labor  to  the  extent  of  $82,000  in  the 
six  years  that  we  have  been  here.  We  have  saved  that  amount  of 
cash,  and  it  represents  410  students  for  a  year  at  $200  each.  We 
have  tried  to  do  our  best  to  manage  these  things  conservatively,  and 
yet  here  is  the  situation.  We  have  no  more  facilities  than  we  need. 
If  every  student  had  been  in  this  room  at  the  close  of  the  year,  we 
should  have  had  a  line  of  chairs  clear  around  the  room. 

E.  W.  Farnsworth:  During  this  time  of  which  you  speak,  how 
much  has  the  college  run  ahead  on  its  operating  expenses? 

C.  W.  Irwin:  For  the  first  five  years  it  was  a  little  over  seven  thou¬ 
sand  dollars.  One  year  we  ran  behind  four  thousand  dollars.  This 
year  I  suppose  we  shall  be  ahead  about  three  thousand  dollars.  I 
suppose  it  would  be  approximately  ten  thousand  dollars  in  the  six 
years. 


74 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Now  if  there  is  any  light  on  this,  we  want  it.  Professor  Morrison 
has  referred  to  some  peculiar  experiences.  In  our  work  here  there 
have  been  times  when  we  needed  money  very  much.  The  only  thing 
we  could  do  would  be  to  wake  up  at  night  and  say  to  the  Lord,  “This 
school  is  yours,  and  you  will  simply  have  to  take  hold  of  this  situation.” 
At  one  of  these  times,  the  next  day  after  I  had  prayed  in  that  way,  I 
opened  a  letter,  and  there  was  four  thousand  dollars  in  it.  In  an¬ 
other  case  a  young  man  put  five  thousand  dollars  in  my  hand.  I  have 
had  several  experiences  like  that,  where  money  came  to  us  in  that 
peculiar  way. 

There  is  just  one  other  thing  I  wish  to  say  before  I  sit  down.  I 
have  found  that  it  pays  to  provide  good  equipment.  A  few  years 
ago  I  tried  to  cut  down  as  fine  as  I  could  on  board,  but  I  found  there 
was  quite  a  little  complaint  that  the  board  was  not  good  enough. 
Then  we  changed  our  plan,  and  provided  the  best  board  that  money 
could  purchase,  and  added  one  cent  a  dish.  I  find  that  our  constit¬ 
uency  does  not  complain  about  paying  more  money  if  they  are  get¬ 
ting  more  for  their  money.  If  they  pay  a  higher  rate,  but  get  value 
for  it,  they  do  not  complain.  We  have  found  it  pays  to  provide  good 
board,  and  to  try  to  build  up  our  facilities.  Students  do  not  mind 
paying  a  good  round  sum  for  laboratory  fees,  if  the  facilities  are  there 
so  they  can  get  the  work.  We  have  raised  our  fees,  and  I  have  not 
heard  any  complaint,  because  the  work  is  there.  Professor  Morri¬ 
son  touched  that  very  point.  Sometimes  it  does  not  pay  to  save 
money.  I  have  had  fifteen  years’  experience,  and  I  know  that  that 
is  true. 

F.  Griggs:  It  occurs  to  me  that  after  two  or  three  influxes  of  stu¬ 
dents  in  this  way,  you  would  expect  them,  and  would  be  prepared 
for  that  kind  of  increase  right  along. 

E.  W.  Farnsworth:  I  should  like  to  know  how  you  would  prepare 
for  them. 

» 

E.  E.  Andross:  We  are  raising  the  Hundred  and  Fifty  Thousand 
Dollar  Fund. 

O.  J.  Graf:  Wouldn’t  the  increased  revenue  from  the  additional 
students  pay  for  the  increased  facilities?  Fifty  students,  after  the 
overhead  expenses  are  met,  would  bring  in  a  large  amount  of  money. 

F.  Griggs:  There  is  a  scripture  that  comes  to  my  mind,  “A  pru¬ 
dent  man  foreseeth  the  evil,  and  hidetb  himself.”  I  am  certainly 
glad  for  these  excellent  papers,  and  the  good  spirit  we  have  had  here 
today.  It  has  been  a  good  day  for  us. 


THE  SACREDNESS  OF  TEACHING 


I.  H.  EVANS 

“It  is  required  in  stewards,  that  a  man  be  found  faithful.” 

With  the  impartation  of  one  of  God’s  gifts  there  comes  a  respon¬ 
sibility  that  no  man  can  escape.  He  may  say  that  he  did  not  ask 
for  that  responsibility,  and  that  he  does  not  feel  like  doing  what 
that  gift  would  call  him  to  do.  But  there  is  a  responsibility,  and  no 
man  can  throw  it  off.  A  steward  is  a  man  who  does  not  own  the  prop¬ 
erty,  but  who  cares  for  it  in  the  place  of  the  master.  A  steward  in 
a  home  is  the  man  who  provides  food  and  looks  after  the  household 
affairs. 

God  has  placed  teachers  in  the  church.  In  I  Cor.  12:  28  we  find 
this  statement:  “God  hath  set  some  in  the  church,  first  apostles, 
secondarily  prophets,  thirdly  teachers.”  Of  course  1  should  not 
like  to  argue  that  the  position  of  teacher,  as  we  understand  it,  is 
exactly  what  the  word  “teacher”  means  in  this  Scripture.  In  the 
days  of  Christ  but  very  little  was  known  about  the  kind  of  schools 
that  we  operate.  Our  modern  methods  of  running  schools  are  not 
the  same  as  those  back  in  the  days  of  Christ.  Nevertheless,  they  did 
have  teachers,  and  the  gift  of  teaching  was  one  of  the  gifts  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

Therefore  when  a  man  has  been  given  the  talent  of  teaching, 
he  must  never  forget  that  he  has  a  holy  gift,  and  it  is  as  truly  a 
gift  as  that  of  prophecy.  A  great  many  times  we  think  if  we  could 
only  be  one  of  God’s  prophets,  and  he  could  speak  through  us  in  the 
way  that  he  has  spoken  through  them,  then  we  should  have  a  great 
gift.  But  the  Lord  says,  “God  hath  set  some  in  the  church,  first  apos¬ 
tles,  secondarily  prophets,  thirdly  teachers,  after  that  miracles,  then 
gifts  of  healings,  helps,  governments,  diversities  of  tongues.”  Then 
surely,  he  puts  the  gift  of  teaching  among  the  very  first  gifts  of  his 
Holy  Spirit,  and  a  man  who  has  that  gift  has  something  sacred. 
It  is  one  of  the  divine  gifts  to  the  church,  and  when  God  has  given 
that  to  you  as  a  teacher,  you  are  under  bonds  before  God  to  use  that 
gift  to  glorify  his  name  as  a  faithful  steward. 

In  1  Tim.  3:  1-3  is  a  scripture  that  we  read  many  times  to 
the  elders  of  churches;  but  I  wish  you  to  notice  one  expression  here. 
In  speaking  of  the  qualifications  of  an  elder  or  a  bishop,  Paul  uses 
this  language:  — 

“This  is  a  true  saying,  If  a  man  desire  the  office  of  a  bishop,  he 
desireth  a  good  work.  A  bishop  then  must  be  blameless,  the  husband 


7  6 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


of  one  wife,  vigilant,  sober,  of  good  behavior,  given  to  hospitality, 
apt  to  teach;  not  given  to  wine,  no  striker,  not  greedy  of  filthy  lucre; 
but  patient,  not  a  brawler,  not  covetous.” 

Here  again  the  gift  of  teaching  is  mentioned  as  a  qualification 
for  the  man  who  is  to  be  a  bishop,  a  leader,  a  teacher  among  the 
people  of  God.  It  is  a  gift  that  is  of  great  importance,  and  of  great 
value,  though  the  Bible  itself,  as  I  said  before,  perhaps  does  not 
deal  with  teachers  as  we  are  dealing  with  them  here.  Yet  we  cannot 
dismiss  the  idea  that  the  gift  of  teaching  and  of  training  young  men 
in  the  service  of  God  is  one  of  the  most  sacred  and  holy  callings  God 
has  ever  given  to  men. 

I  want  to  dwell  upon  the  sacredness  of  this  phase,  the  holiness  of 
this  position,  that  you  may  not  think  that  your  work  is  common  and 
cheap,  that  you  may  not  drift  along,  thinking,  “Well,  I  am  only  a 
teacher,  I  do  not  amount  to  much  in  this  great  work.”  If  I  could  make 
you  believe  that  this  work  of  teaching  is  a  holy  calling,  that  the  gift 
of  teaching  is  a  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  a  gift  that  God  recognizes 
again  and  again  in  his  Word,  then,  it  seems  to  me,  you  would  more 
appreciate  the  high  calling  when  you  are  placed  in  the  school  to 
train  young  men  and  women  for  their  life  work. 

I  wish  to  read  another  text  to  emphasize  this  power  of  knowledge 
in  teaching  as  a  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Here  again  the  gift  of  teaching 
is  classed  among  the  high  gifts  that  God  has  placed  in  the  church. 
Paul  starts  out  with  prophecy:— - 

“Having  then  gifts  differing  according  to  the  grace  that  is  given 
to  us,  whether  prophecy,  let  us  prophesy.”  Now  if  you  could  have 
the  gift  of  prophecy,  you  would  think  that  was  a  wonderful  thing.  You 
would  walk  very  humbly.  You  would  wrestle  with  God  in  prayer. 
And  you  would  say,  “I  must  do  nothing  that  will  drive  this  gift 
from  my  heart.”  Yet  it  is  not  one  whit  more  a  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
than  the  gift  of  teaching. 

Then  again,  “Or  ministry,  let  us  wait  on  our  ministering.”  Surely, 
we  say,  the  ministry  is  one  of  God’s  high  callings,  but  he  also  classi¬ 
fies  teaching  right  along  in  the  same  category  with  prophesying  and 
ministry. 

Then  he  says,  “Or  he  that  teacheth,  on  teaching.”  So  if  you  are 
a  teacher  in  the  church  of  Christ,  then  you  must  be  one  of  those  men 
to  whom  God  has  given  gifts  directly  through  the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

You  must  never  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  work  you  are  doing 
is  holy,  that  it  is  God’s  work.  Let  us  read  i  Cor.  12:  1-10:  — 

“Now  concerning  spiritual  gifts,  brethren,  I  would  not  have  you 
ignorant.  Ye  know  that  ye  were  Gentiles,  carried  away  unto  these 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


77 


dumb  idols,  even  as  ye  were  led.  Wherefore  I  give  you  to  under¬ 
stand,  that  no  man  speaking  by  the  Spirit  of  God  calleth  Jesus  ac¬ 
cursed:  and  that  no  man  can  say  that  Jesus  is  the  Lord,  but  by  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

“Now  there  are  diversities  of  gifts,  but  the  same  Spirit.  And 
there  are  differences  of  administrations,  but  the  same  Lord.  And 
there  are  diversities  of  operations,  but  it  is  the  same  God  which 
worketh  all  in  all.  But  the  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  is  given  to 
every  man  to  profit  withal.  For  to  one  is  given  by  the  Spirit  the  word 
of  wisdom;  to  another  the  word  of  knowledge  by  the  same  Spirit;  to 
another  faith  by  the  same  Spirit;  to  another  the  gifts  of  healing  by 
the  same  Spirit;  to  another  the  working  of  miracles;  to  another  proph¬ 
ecy;  to  another  discerning  of  spirits;  to  another  divers  kinds  of  tongues; 
to  another  the  interpretation  of  tongues.” 

I  should  like  to  emphasize  this  so  strongly  that  you  might  never 
forget  it,  but  it  would  live  with  you  in  all  the  years  of  hard  work,  of 
perplexity  and  trouble,  that  will  come  to  you  as  teachers, —  that  this 
great  calling  is  of  God,  and  that  this  gift  is  right  in  line  with  the 
direct  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  hearts  of  men. 

The  Lord  puts  this  ability  of  teaching,  this  talent  of  knowledge, 
this  gift  of  wisdom,  in  the  church  as  a  direct  gift  from  him;  and  there¬ 
fore  when  a  man  is  qualified  to  teach,  and  accepts  the  calling  of  a 
teacher,  I  hold  that  he  has  accepted  one  of  the  most  holy  professions 
that  there  are  in  this  work. 

Let  us  see  how  it  appears  to  a  layman  when  he  places  his  children 
in  your  charge.  It  is  one  of  the  hardest  things  a  man  does,  to 
separate  from  his  family.  You  teachers  who  live  with  your  children 
and  have  educational  advantages  for  them  at  home  all  your  life, 
can  hardly  appreciate  the  feelings  of  a  father  and  mother  when  they 
are. called  to  separate  from  the  children  they  love.  For  nine'months 
in  the  year  they  see  their  faces  not  once,  nor  hear  their  voices,  nor 
are  able  to  speak  to  them  heart  to  heart.  They  place  them  under 
the  care  and  supervision  of  men  whom  they  know  little  about.  I  say 
it  is  one  of  the  hardest  things  that  can  come  into  the  home.  Many  a 
father  has  sent  his  boy,  many  a  mother  has  sent  her  girl  to  you,  their 
hearts  breaking  with  sorrow  and  tears  running  down  their  cheeks; 
and  they  never  forget- a  single  morning  or  night,  in  secret  prayer, 
to  ask  that  the  blessing  of  God  may  be  with  that  child,  and  that  the 
teacher  may  be  wise  to  understand  how  to  deal  with  that  boy  or  girl. 

Parents  make  this  great  sacrifice  because  they  love  God.  They 
do  not  send  their  boys  and  girls  to  be  taught  by  you  simply  to  get 
rid  of  them.  The  majority  of  parents  make  tremendous  sacrifices. 


78 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Many  a  father  and  mother  have  gone  without  sufficient  clothing  and 
without  proper  conditions  in  the  home,  that  they  might  pay  the  ex¬ 
penses  of  their  children  in  these  schools,  that  the  children  might  be 
under  Christian  influences.  They  could  have  put  them  in  the  high 
school  in  their  own  village  without  cost,  but  they  made  this  great  sac¬ 
rifice  for  the  purpose  of  putting  their  sons  and  daughters  under  the  in¬ 
struction  of  men  and  women  who  are  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit, 
men  and  women  in  whom  they  have  supreme  confidence,  in  whom 
they  believe  is  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God. 

I  hold  that  when  our  teachers  receive  from  a  home  like  that,  a 
p-upil  to  be  trained,  they  are  under  bonds  before  God  to  do  their 
best  to  shape  the  life  and  mold  the  character  for  usefulness,  that 
a  man  or  woman  saved  in  the  kingdom  of  God  may  result. 

There  is  no  calling  more  sacred  or  more  holy  than  teaching,  and 
no  one  whom  God  will  hold  to  a  greater  degree  responsible  for  the 
souls  of  men  and  women  than  our  teachers.  I  do  not  say  that  God 
will  not  hold  the  minister  equally  responsible;  he  must.  But,  brethren, 
you  have  a  still  closer  touch  than  ever  a  minister  had  with  these 
boys  and  girls.  As  ministers  we  travel  about  from  place  to  place. 
We  stand  before  a  congregation  to  speak  or  pray,  but  we  can  stay 
only  a  little  time.  But  here  these  boys  and  girls  are  placed  under 
your  supervision,  not  for  one  hour,  not  for  a  day,  nor  for  two  or  three 
days  in  the  week,  but  for  a  year,  or  years,  to  mold  and  fashion  day 
after  day.  We  snatch  them  away  from  their  father’s  and  mother’s 
care,  as  it  were,  and  place  them  under  your  tutelage,  your  instruction, 
and  in  some  cases  under  your  parentage,  for  at  least  eight  hours  in 
the  day,  eight  or  nine  months  in  the  year,  and  for  nearly  sixteen  years. 

Must  there  not  be  a  responsibility  somewhere?  If  God  holds 
parents  responsible  for  their  children,  and  we,  according  to  the  teach¬ 
ing  of  the  church,  instruct  these  parents  to  put  these  children  under 
Christian  teachers,  then  I  hold  that  every  teacher  must  give  an  ac¬ 
count  before  God  for  the  souls  of  these  boys  and  girls.  It  is  not 
merely  hearing  recitations,  it  is  not  receiving  and  dispatching  busi¬ 
ness;  friends,  you  are  dealing  with  something  more  sacred  than  busi¬ 
ness;  you  are  dealing  with  souls  that  are  of  more  value  to  God  than 
all  the  gold  and  silver  on  earth.  I  want  to  read  another  statement 
in  regard  to  this:  — 

“At  the  same  time  came  the  disciples  unto  Jesus,  saying,  Who 
is  the  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven?  And  Jesus  called  a  little 
child  unto  him,  and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  said,  Except 
ye  be  converted,  and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Whosoever  therefore  shall  humble 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


70 


himself  as  this  little  child,  the  same  is  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  And  whoso  shall  receive  one  such  little  child  in  my  name 
receiveth  me.” 

Oh,  how  gladly  would  you  throw  open  the  doors  of  your  school 
to  Jesus  Christ!  Wouldn’t  you  be  glad  to  see  the  Saviour  as  a  little 
boy  walking  into  your  schoolroom?  You  couldn’t  help  being  thank¬ 
ful,  and  you  would  love  him.  But  “whoso  shall  receive  one  such 
little  child  in  my  name  receiveth  me.”  Then  in  the  person  of  these 
children  that  come  to  you  for  training,  you  have  Jesus  Christ,  you 
have  the  Saviour.  Now  the  next  verse:  — 

“But  whoso  shall  offend  one  of  these  little  ones  which  believe  in 
me,  it  were  better  for  him  that  a  millstone  were  hanged  about  his 
neck,  and  that  he  were  drowned  in  the  depth  of  the  sea.” 

“Oh,  but,”  you  say,  “I  do  not  like  this  one.  He  is  disagreeable.” 
O  my  friends,  you  must  not  cherish  such  feelings.  You  must  not 
pick  these  boys  out  and  say,  “  I  like  this  one  because  he  is  agreeable, 
but  I  do  not  like  that  one,  he  is  no  good,  he  is  not  after  my  style.” 
It  is  your  duty  to  take  these  rough  boys  and  girls,  and  fashion  them 
into  the  character  of  Jesus  Christ.  You  must  not  have  preferences. 
It  is  not  your  privilege  to  have  favorites,  to  like  this  one  and  dislike 
that  one. 

I  do  not  believe  that  any  teacher  who  has  favorites  is  fit  to  go 
into  a  schoolroom  to  teach.  It  does  not  matter  who  the  child  is, 
whether  he  is  the  son  of  the  president  of  the  General  Conference 
or  the  child  of  the  poorest  family  among  us,  it  is  our  duty  to  treat 
both  alike,  to  watch  them  with  the  same  jealous  care,  to  minister  to 
them  in  the  same  kind  way,  and  never  to  forget  that  if  by  example 
or  word  we  drive  a  soul  from  Christ,  the  Master  will  say,  It  were 
better  that  a  millstone  were  hanged  about  your  neck,  and  you  were 
drowned  in  the  depths  of  the  sea. 

Then  the  ioth  verse:  “Take  heed  that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these 
little  ones;  for  I  say  unto  you,  That  in  heaven  their  angels  do  always 
behold  the  face  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.”  Isn’t  that  a  close 
connection  with  heaven?  He  is  speaking  of  children,  too,  the  hum¬ 
blest,  the  weakest,  those  who  cannot  protect  themselves,  those  who 
do  not  have  a  word  to  say  in  their  own  behalf.  I  never  read  that 
scripture  but  that  I  say,  “Lord,  help  me  to  treat  each  and  every 
one  as  I  should,  to  have  no  favorites,  to  love  these  poor  lost  souls 
for  Christ’s  sake,  and  to  lead  them  to  look  up  in  faith,  making  them 
strong  for  the  Lord.” 

Teachers,  God  will  hold  you  accountable  for  every  soul  placed 
under  your  care.  Yours  is  not  a  light  work.  You  are  not  in  a  boy’s 
game.  You  are  not  playing  something  that  is  easy.  When  you  enter 


80 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


the  profession  of  teaching,  you  take  upon  yourself  vows  of  respon¬ 
sibility  that  you  will  be  God’s  stewards,  Christ’s  representatives, 
and  that  there  shall  be  done  on  your  part  everything  that  you  know 
how  to  do  to  lead  these  youth  to  Christ.  If  that  is  not  in  your  heart 
as  the  great,  the  chief  aim,  you  have  failed  of  being  a  teacher  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  Bible  ideal.  If  you  do  not  belong  to  that  class,  you  ought 
not  to  accept  a  position  as  teacher  in  one  of  our  schools. 

Here  are  a  few  familiar  statements  from  the  book,  “Counsels  to 
Teachers.”  I  want  you  to  note  what  is  said  respecting  the  sacred  ness 
of  this  work  of  teaching:  — 

“When  every  teacher  shall  forget  self,  and  feel  a  deep  interest 
in  the  success  and  prosperity  of  his  pupils,  realizing  that  they  are 
Cod’s  property,  and  that  he  must  render  an  account  for  his  influence 
upon  their  minds  and  characters,  then  we  shall  have  a  school  in  which 
angels  will  love  to  linger.  Jesus  will  look  approvingly  upon  the  work 
of  the  teachers,  and  will  send  his  grace  into  the  hearts  of  the  students.” 
—  Page  94. 

We  are  working  upon  these  children  as  God’s  property.  You 
may  say  that  many  of  them  are  rough  and  uncouth,  and  you  cannot 
bear  them.  Then  how  can  you  help  them?  It  is  a  fact  that  every 
boy  knows  whether  a  teacher  likes  him  or  not.  He  does  not  have  to 
have  it  written  out  in  flaming  letters.  I  remember  one  time  I  was 
talking  with  a  colored  man  who  came  to  my  house  to  see  me  about 
some  troubles  in  the  church.  I  said  to  him  (I  thought  it  would 
encourage  him):  “I  do  not  think  I  have  any  color  line  in  my  heart. 
As  far  as  I  know,  I  like  all  colored  people  just  as  well  as  I  like  the 
white  people.”  He  said  to  me,  “Oh,  you  need  not  tell  me  that. 
A  white  man  never  comes  into  our  church  door  but  every  colored  man 
in  that  church  knows  instantly  whether  that  man  likes  the  colored 
people  or  not.” 

I  have  often  thought  that  every  student  knows  just  as  soon  as 
he  comes  in  touch  with  his  teacher,  whether  that  teacher  likes  him 
or  not.  How  does  he  know?  —  By  intuition.  He  knows  it  by  an 
atmosphere,  a  magnetism,  a  something  that  speaks  to  him.  He 
knows  what  he  thinks  of  the  teacher,  and  he  thinks  he  knows  what 
the  teacher  thinks  of  him.  Of  course  they  do  not  know  hearts, 
always,  but  they  know  them  better  than  we  think  they  do. 

I  want  to  read  another  statement:  — 

“I  speak  to  the  workers  in  our  college.  You  must  not  only  pro¬ 
fess  to  be  Christians,  but  you  must  exemplify  the  character  of  Christ. 
Let  the  wisdom  from  above  pervade  all  your  instruction.  In  a  world 
of  moral  darkness  and  corruption,  let  it  be  seen  that  the  spirit  by 
which  you  are  moved  to  action  is  from  above,  not  from  beneath. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


81 


While  you  rely  wholly  upon  your  own  strength  and  wisdom,  your 
best  efforts  will  accomplish  little.  If  you  are  prompted  by  love  to 
God,  his  law  being  your  foundation,  your  work  will  be  enduring. 
While  the  hay,  wood,  and  stubble  are  consumed,  your  work  will 
stand  the  test.  The  youth  placed  under  your  care  you  must  meet 
again  around  the  great  white  throne.”  That  is  a  solemn  statement, 
isn’t  it?  “If  you  permit  your  uncultivated  manners  or  uncontrolled 
tempers  to  bear  sway,  and  thus  fail  to  influence  these  youth  for  their 
eternal  good,  you  must,  at  that  day,  meet  the  grave  consequences 
of  your  work.” — Id .,  page  95. 

What  will  a  man  say  before  the  throne  of  God  when  God  holds 
him  to  account  for  a  lost  soul, —  a  soul  of  such  great  value  that  Jesus 
Christ  would  gladly  have  given  his  life  especially  for  that  one;  a  soul 
that  is  so  important  in  God’s  sight  that  if  you  should  measure  out  to 
the  Lord  all  the  gold  and  silver  that  this  earth  contains,  there  would 
not  be  enough  to  even  tempt  God  to  accept  it  instead  of  the  child? 
You  must  stand  and  look  into  the  face  of  God,  and  give  an  account 
for  these  boys  and  girls, —  for  your  actions,  your  influence,  or  what¬ 
ever  has  driven  them  from  faith  to  unbelief,  and  driven  them  out  of 
the  family  of  God. 

Again  we  read:  “By  a  knowledge  of  the  divine  law  and  obedi¬ 
ence  to  its  precepts,  men  may  become  the  sons  of  God.  By  violation 
of  that  law,  they  become  servants  of  Satan.  On  the  one  hand,  they 
may  rise  to  any  height  of  moral  excellence;  or  on  the  other  hand 
they  may  descend  to  any  depth  of  iniquity  and  degradation.  The 
workers  in  our  colleges  should  manifest  a  zeal  and  earnestness  pro¬ 
portionate  to  the  value  of  the  prize  at  stake, —  the  souls  of  their 
students,  the  approval  of  God,  eternal  life,  and  the  joys  of  the  re¬ 
deemed. 

“As  colaborers  with  Christ,  with  so  favorable  opportunities  to 
impart  the  knowledge  of  God,  our  teachers  should  labor  as  if  inspired 
from  above.  The  hearts  of  the  youth  are  not  hardened,  nor  their 
ideas  and  opinions  stereotyped,  as  are  those  of  older  persons.  They 
may  be  won  to  Christ  by  your  holy  demeanor,  your  devotion,  your 
Christlike  walk.  It  would  be  much  better  to  crowd  them  less  in 
the  study  of  the  sciences,  and  give  them  more  time  for  religious 
privileges.  Here  a  grave  mistake  has  been  made.” —  Id.,  pages  95,  q6. 

I  think,  my  friends,  we  do  sometimes  run  things  too  hard  and 
fast.  The  child  is  put  through  the  grind  and  required  to  measure 
up  to  every  standard.  1  believe  in  that,  and  yet  it  is  an  awful  thing 
to  have  no  time  to  speak  to  the  soul.  A  teacher  should  not  be 
so  tired  and  exhausted  with  routine  work  that  as  soon  as  school  is 
out,  he  will  want  to  get  away  and  lock  himself  from  his  pupils,  not 


6 


82 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


even  having  time  to  pray  with  them.  He  should  have  time  to  take 
a  wayward  boy  and  ask  him  why  he  does  not  do  right,  and  talk  with 
him  about  a  better  plan.  How  many  a  time  a  boy’s  heart  has  ached 
for  a  little  help.  I  remember  I  went  a  whole  year  to  college,  and 
never  a  human  being  spoke  to  me  about  my  soul, —  never  a  word 
in  all  the  year  that  intimated  that  I  had  a  soul  to  save;  yet  I  was 
present  in  every  class  and  every  recitation. 

I  believe  that  as  teachers  we  must  realize  that  there  is  something 
of  more  value  than  class  work.  That  is  all  right;  we  want  our  chil¬ 
dren  drilled  and  educated,  not  that  they  may  be  a  dictionary  or  an 
encyclopedia,  but  that  they  may  be  able  to  use  all  their  talents  as  a 
trained  man  can  use  them.  But  the  highest  training  of  all,  dear 
friends,  is  that  which  fits  them  to  be  children  of  God.  I  think  one  of 
the  saddest  things  that  ever  comes  to  a  home  in  this  world,  when  the 
parents  love  God,  is  to  have  a  child  come  from  a  school  having  lost 
his  Christian  experience.  You  cannot  measure  the  heartache,  you 
cannot  fathom  it,  until  you  have  a  son  of  your  own  with  this  experience. 
Rather  than  have  this  happen,  we  ought  to  exhaust  our  resources, 
exhaust  all  endeavor,  and  prayer,  and  every  ability  we  have  under 
God,  to  save  those  children  and  bring  them  to  Christ. 

I  will  read  one  or  two  more  statements  from  page  229,  “Counsels 
to  Teachers:” — 

“To  the  teacher  is  committed  a  most  important  work, —  a  work 
upon  which  he  should  not  enter  without  careful  and  thorough  prep¬ 
aration.  He  should  feel  the  sacredness  of  his  calling,  and  give  him¬ 
self  to  it  with  zeal  and  devotion.  .  .  . 

“  But  it  is  not  enough  that  the  teacher  possess  natural  ability 
and  intellectual  culture.  These  are  indispensable,  but  without  a 
spiritual  fitness  for  the  work  he  is  not  prepared  to  engage  in  it.  He 
should  see  in  every  pupil  the  handiwork  of  God, —  a  candidate  for 
immortal  honors.  He  should  seek  so  to  educate,  train,  and  discipline 
the  youth  that  each  may  reach  the  high  standard  of  excellence  to 
which  God  calls  him.” 

My  friends,  we  must  never  forget  that  degrees  do  not  qualify 
a  man  to  be  a  teacher  of  our  children.  I  do  not  care  how  many  degrees 
or  honors  a  man  may  have,  he  is  not  fitted  to  teach  young  boys  and 
girls  that  belong  to  our  denomination,  until  he  has  a  spiritual  ex¬ 
perience  that  makes  his  heart  tender  and  filled  with  love  for  these 
children.  He  should  see  in  every  pupil  the  handiwork  of  God,  a 
candidate  for  immortal  honors.  He  should  seek  so  to  educate, 
train,  and  discipline  the  youth  that  each  may  reach  the  high  stand¬ 
ard  of  excellence  to  which  God  calls  him.  However  high  his  intel¬ 
lectual  attainment,  no  matter  what  he  may  have  done  himself,  no 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


83 


teacher  is  fitted  to  teach  our  boys  and  girls  until  he  looks  at  them  as 
the  handiwork  of  God,  and  sees  in  them  candidates  for  immortal  life. 
I  would  ten  thousand  times  rather  have  my  child  led  to  Christ 
and  saved  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  than  to  have  him  covered  with  all 
the  honors  and  glories  that  all  the  schools  on  earth  could  give. 

My  friends,  keep  before  your  minds  continually  the  sacredness 
of  this  calling,  the  holiness  of  the  work  of  teaching.  Never  put  it 
on  a  common,  cheap  level,  nor  think  that  our  schools  can  be  run 
according  to  worldly  patterns.  Ours  is  an  entirely  different  work 
from  that  of  the  world.  We  are  trying  to  win  our  children  from 
this  world.  We  are  trying  to  have  them  trained  to  be  Christians, 
to  love  God,  to  be  assured  that  they  are  saved  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ 
to  live  with  God  in  glory. 

So  I  hope  and  trust  that,  as  teachers,  you  will  never  forget  the 
sacredness  of  this  great  work  of  training  27,000  boys  and  girls  of  our 
people  for  heaven.  Think  of  it,  friends, —  the  mightiest  work  that 
is  going  on  in  the  world,  and  you  are  at  the  head  of  it!  You  are  not 
simply  training  these  youth,  you  are  molding  all  the  influences  with 
which  they  will  come  in  contact.  It  is  a  work  mighty  and  expanding, 
and  you  need  the  Holy  Spirit  to  help  you  do  it.  I  am  glad  that  this 
gift  of  teaching  is  one  of  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 


OUR  SCHOOLS  HOLD  THE  KEY 

A.  G.  DANIELLS 

Our  schools  and  our  school-teachers,  the  men  and  women  who  are 
training  the  youth  for  the  finishing  of  this  work,  hold  the  key  to 
this  great  foreign  missionary  problem.  My  dear  friends,  we  must  be 
thorough  in  this  work,  not  only  giving  the  minds  of  our  youth  good 
training  and  good  discipline,  but  we  must  also  see  that  they  are 
made  thorough  missionaries  in  the  school.  We  cannot  make  per¬ 
sons  missionaries  out  in  the  field.  Crossing  the  ocean  does  not 
change  a  person’s  heart;  it  does  not  change  the  disposition;  and  it 
does  not  change  the  outlook  of  a  great  many.  The  transformation 
must  be  made  here  in  the  homeland;  and  the  place  to  make  it  is  in 
the  schools,  where  the  students  are  drilled  and  trained  day  after 
day,  week  after  week,  and  year  after  year. 

One  needs  to  get  into  the  field  and  see  the  area,  the  masses  of 
people,  and  the  pressure  which  is  brought  upon  the  workers  day  by 
day,  to  realize  the  need  of  efficiency  in  our  missionaries;  and  that  is 
why  I  believe  our  schools  are  the  most  important  factor  we  have  in 
our  denomination  for  the  preparation  of  workers. — From  a  Talk  to 
the  Council. 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  A  STRONG  MINISTRY 

J.  L.  SHAW 

Since  the  entrance  of  sin  into  the  world,  God  has  used  men  as 
ministers  and  priests  through  whom  he  has  spoken  to  the  people  and 
by  means  of  whom  he  has  sent  the  word  of  reconciliation.  In  the 
earliest  times  every  man  was  the  priest  of  his  own  household.  There 
rested  upon  the  head  of  the  household  the  responsibility  of  directing 
the  family  in  the  way  of  righteousness.  Some  of  these  men  stand 
out  as  holy  men,  ennobled  by  communion  with  God.  Of  them  we 
read  that  they  were  men  of  massive  intellect,  of  wonderful  attain¬ 
ments.  Enoch,  we  are  told,  had  a  strong  and  highly  cultivated  mind 
and  extensive  knowledge.  He  bears  the  honor  of  being  the  first 
Bible  character  spoken  of  as  a  “preacher  of  righteousness.”  He  re¬ 
proved  sin,  proclaimed  the  love  of  God  in  Christ,  and  preached  the 
advent  of  Christ,  and  may  therefore  be  regarded  as  a  type  of  the  people 
to  be  developed  in  the  last  days,  when  the  near  coming  of  Christ  is 
to  be  preached  in  all  the  world. 

In  the  days  of  Abraham  the  priesthood  was  regarded  as  the  divine 
right  of  the  eldest  son.  The  sin  of  Esau  was  his  failure  to  regard  the 
high  calling  of  God  when  he  sold  his  birthright  for  a  mess  of  pottage. 
Later,  instead  of  the  first-born  of  all  Israel,  the  Lord  accepted  the 
tribe  of  Levi  for  the  work  of  the  sanctuary,  and  Aaron  was  chosen  as 
the  mouthpiece  of  God  to  minister  unto  the  people.  A  study  of  the 
Levitical  priesthood  reveals  the  fact  that  the  priests  were  chosen  to 
be  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  leaders  of  Israel.  They  were  sup¬ 
ported  from  the  tithe,  and  their  time  was  given  them  to  study,  teach, 
and  minister  in  all  that  pertained  to  the  development  of  the  mind  and 
morals  of  the  people. 

Commentators  have  endeavored  to  show  the  efficient  training  of 
the  Levitical  priesthood.  One  writer  asserts  they  must  have  studied 
astronomy,  in  order  to  appoint  the  festivals;  mathematics,  to  attend 
to  the  business  affairs  of  the  sacrificial  service;  geometry,  to  divide 
the  land.  They  studied  poetry  and  sacred  song.  Certain  it  is  they 
knew  the  laws  of  hygiene  and  sanitation.  The  book  of  Leviticus 
makes  it  very  evident  that  they  were  required  to  know  the  symptoms 
and  development  of  disease  sufficiently  to  carry  into  effect  the  laws 
of  health  and  hygiene  given  to  Israel.  It  does  not  require  elabora¬ 
tion  of  the  idea  to  believe  that  the  Levites  were  required  to  be  the 
intellectual  as  well  as  the  spiritual  leaders  of  Israel,  and  undoubtedly 
many  of  them  reached  a  high  degree  of  efficiency. 

In  the  Christian  dispensation  we  find  also  that  God  set  apart  men 
to  the  ministry.  Christ  ordained  the  twelve  that  he  might  send  them 

84 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


85 


forth  to  preach,  and  for  this  appointed  work  they  were  given  special 
preparation  in  a  school  under  his  guidance  and  control.  They  were 
not  chosen  because  of  their  ignorance.  In  “Counsels  to  Teachers,” 
pages  51 1,  512,  we  read:  — 

“Many  speak  against  education  because  Jesus  chose  uneducated 
fishermen  to  preach  the  gospel.  They  assert  that  he  showed  pref¬ 
erence  for  the  uneducated.  But  there  were  many  learned  and  hon¬ 
orable  men  who  believed  the  teaching  of  Christ.  Had  these  fearlessly 
obeyed  the  convictions  of  their  consciences,  they  would  have  followed 
him.  Their  abilities  would  have  been  accepted,  and  employed  in 
the  service  of  Christ,  had  they  offered  them.  But  they  had  not  moral 
power,  in  face  of  the  frowning  priests  and  jealous  rulers,  to  confess 
Christ,  and  venture  their  reputation  in  connection  with  the  humble 
Galilean.  .  .  . 

“God  will  accept  the  youth  with  their  talent  and  their  wealth  of 
affection,  if  they  will  consecrate  themselves  to  him.  They  may  reach 
to  the  highest  point  of  intellectual  greatness;  and  if  balanced  by  reli¬ 
gious  principle ,  they  can  carry  forward  the  work  which  Christ  came 
from  heaven  to  accomplish.” 

The  disciples  were  picked  men,  chosen  for  a  definite  work,  and 
trained  for  service  in  the  school  of  Christ.  They  became  strong 
spiritual  leaders  because  they  were  specially  trained  for  their  work 
and  gave  themselves  wholly  to  it.  Paul,  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles, 
sat  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  and  who  can  doubt,  from  the  study  of  his 
writings,  that  he  received  a  liberal  education?  John  Wycliffe,  the 
morning  star  of  the  Reformation,  was  called  from  Oxford.  He  “re¬ 
ceived  a  liberal  education,  and  with  him  the  fear  of  the  Lord  was  the 
beginning  of  wisdom.  He  was  noted  at  college  for  his  fervent  piety 
as  well  as  for  his  remarkable  talents  and  sound  scholarship.”  Huss 
received  his  education  in  the  University  of  Prague.  Luther  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  entered  the  University  of  Erfurt,  and  applied  himself 
to  the  best  authors,  diligently  treasuring  their  most  weighty  thoughts 
and  making  the  wisdom  of  the  wise  his  own. 

The  Reformation  had  its  beginnings  in  the  universities.  Zwingli, 
Melanchthon,  Le  Fevre,  Calvin,  were  men  of  learning  and  piety 
who  were  moved  of  God  to  teach  his  Word. 

The  work  of  the  third  angel’s  message  had  its  beginnings  among 
men  who  did  not  have  great  advantages  from  the  standpoint  of  col¬ 
lege  and  university  training.  They  were  nevertheless  students  of 
earnest  application,  who  improved  their  opportunities,  and  through 
study  and  research  became  able  exponents  of  the  faith  they  espoused. 

In  1874,  as  the  growing  demands  made  necessary  the  extension 
of  the  work  among  other  nationalities  and  in  other  lands,  it  seemed 


86 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


necessary  to  them  to  found  a  college,  that  men  entering  the  ministry 
might  have  opportunity  to  gain  the  right  kind  of  education.  The 
training  of  men  for  the  ministry  was  the  primary  object  in  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  Battle  Creek  College.  In  after  years  our  brethren  were 
admonished  by  the  Lord’s  servant  that  sufficient  attention  had  not 
been  given  to  this  special  feature  of  its  work:  “Too  little  attention 
has  been  given  to  the  education  of  young  men  for  the  ministry.  This 
was  the  primary  object  to  be  secured  in  the  establishment  of  the  col¬ 
lege.  In  no  case  should  this  be  ignored  or  regarded  as  a  matter  of 
secondary  importance.” 

From  this  brief  historical  survey  of  the  ministry  of  the  past,  we 
may  therefore  come  to  the  following  conclusions:  — 

1.  That  throughout  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament  dispensations, 
and  since  that  time,  God  has  chosen  men  for  the  gospel  ministry. 

2.  That  these  men  were  especially  set  apart  for  the  work  to  which 
they  were  called, —  in  the  Levitical  priesthood  by  the  anointing  with 
oil,  and  in  this  dispensation  by  ordination,  or  the  laying  on  of  hands. 

3.  That  they  have  been  not  only  men  of  marked  piety  and  zeal, 
but  intellectual  leaders,  and  in  many  instances  foremost  in  study  and 
research,  having  a  thirst  for  knowledge  and  truth  in  different  branches 
of  learning. 

4.  That  in  the  development  of  our  own  work,  though  education 
for  the  ministry  has  been  recognized,  yet  our  educators  and  leaders 
have  been  reproved  for  not  having  given  sufficient  attention  to  the 
training  of  men  for  the  ministry. 

It  is  true  that  since  the  time  this  was  said  about  Battle  Creek  Col¬ 
lege  and  its  failure  to  carry  out  the  primary  object  of  its  establish¬ 
ment,  our  educational  work  has  grown,  under  the  leading  hand  of 
God.  Academies  and  colleges  have  been  multiplied,  and  more  at¬ 
tention  to  some  lines  of  special  training  have  been  emphasized. 

In  medical  lines  progress  has  been  made.  Twenty-five  years  ago, 
bright,  intelligent  young  men  and  women  were  selected  and  encour¬ 
aged  to  take  a  medical  course,  and  were  assisted  financially  while  do¬ 
ing  so.  Later,  at  much  expense,  a  medical  college  was  provided,  and 
the  pick  of  our  young  people  were  given  the  opportunity  of  attending. 
Later  on,  at  still  greater  expense,  another  medical  college  has  been 
opened,  providing  larger  facilities  for  the  training  of  medical  workers. 
Our  sanitariums  have  reached  a  commendable  proficiency  in  training 
nurses.  For  years  it  has  been  possible  for  young  people  to  take  a 
nurses’  course  of  three  years  without  any  cost  for  board,  room,  or 
tuition,  beyond  their  own  labor. 

The  past  few  years  our  educators  have  been  led  to  realize  the  im¬ 
portance  of  training  teachers.  Normal  departments  are  now  con 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


87 


nected  with  all  our  colleges  and  some  academies,  and  encouraging 
growth  has  been  made.  While  much  remains  to  be  done  in  perfect¬ 
ing  the  training  of  church-school  teachers,  we  have  now  reached  the 
place  where  students  taking  a  normal  course  are  well  assured  of  making 
a  success  as  teachers.  We  have  also  developed  commercial  depart¬ 
ments,  and  a  large  number  of  young  people  yearly  avail  themselves 
of  the  courses  of  instruction  provided. 

We  rejoice  in  the  facilities  for  training  physicians,  nurses,  and 
teachers,  and  in  the  definite  and  practical  courses  of  instruction, 
and  the*  financial  assistance  which  has  been  provided  for  our  young 
people.  But  the  question  arises,  Are  we  making  the  same  prog¬ 
ress  in  training  men  for  the  ministry  and  women  for  Bible  work? 
I  believe  we  shall  have  to  acknowledge  that  we  have  not  given  the 
careful  consideration  to  training  for  the  ministry  that  we  have  to  edu¬ 
cating  physicians,  nurses,  and  teachers.  This,  among  other  reasons, 
makes  our  greatest  need  that  of  a  well-educated  ministry. 

It  is  true  that  ministerial  courses  have  been  arranged,  but  are  we 
giving  the  close  thought  and  study  to  these  courses  and  to  the  prepar¬ 
ing  of  men  for  the  appointed  work  of  the  ministry,  that  is  being  given 
to  other  lines  of  special  training?  In  most  of  our  schools  the  min¬ 
isterial  course  is  two  years  less  than  the  college  course,  and  for  some 
reason  the  number  taking  this  course  is  not  large.  The  statistics 
gathered  for  the  year  of  the  last  General  Conference  gave  five  grad¬ 
uates  from  ministerial  courses  in  eight  leading  schools.  The  number 
has  increased  since  then,  but  not  greatly. 

The  calls  for  ministers  come  from  various  conferences  in  the  home¬ 
land  and  from  mission  fields.  These  calls  are  continuous  and  in¬ 
sistent.  Men  from  the  plow  are  not  prepared  to  enter  places  where 
the  powerful  influences  of  talent  and  education  combat  the  truths 
of  God’s  Word.  As  consecrated  men  with  a  college  training  are  placed 
in  the  field  to  develop,  these  calls  can  be  answered.  Should  we  not 
therefore  give  larger  consideration  to  the  preparation  of  men  for  the 
ministry?  The  chief  purpose  of  our  schools  is  to  meet  the  demands 
of  the  field.  In  a  very  large  measure  the  selection  and  effectual 
training  of  men  for  the  sacred  calling  of  the  ministry  will  mark  the 
measure  of  extension  of  the  work  at  home  and  abroad. 

With  this  thought  in  view,  we  come  to  the  practical  question, 
What  can  be  done  by  our  colleges  and  conferences  to  build  up  the 
ministry  more  effectually?  In  answer  we  place  before  you  the  follow¬ 
ing  suggestions:  — 

i.  That  the  need  of  well-educated  men  be  kept  before  our  people. 
Old  and  young  should  be  taught  to  recognize  the  sacredness,  dignity, 
and  importance  of  the  gospel  ministry.  The  ministers  are  the  lead- 


88 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


ers  of  this  movement,  and  their  education  and  fitness  for  the  work 
is  a  matter  of  vital  concern;  no  other  calling  should  be  more  highly 
or  sacredly  regarded.  Let  young  men  be  encouraged  to  seek  God 
earnestly,  that  those  who  might  make  a  success  in  this  line  of  work 
be  not  diverted  from  it. 

2.  That  young  men  be  encouraged  to  seek  God  earnestly  as  to 
their  calling  in  the  Lord’s  work,  keeping  before  them  the  need  of  a 
well-educated  ministry,  and  advising  those  who  undertake  this  work 
to  obtain,  if  possible,  the  equivalent  of  a  college  course. 

3.  That  conference  officers  and  college  men  plan  definitely  Together 
for  the  recruiting  of  our  ministry  with  young  men  who  have  made  a 
thorough  preparation,  (a)  By  providing  ministerial  scholarships  for 
those  who  give  promise  of  success,  (b)  by  proving  them  in  conference 
work,  with  reasonable  wages,  during  the  summer,  that  they  may  be 
able  financially  to  attend  college  until  they  have  finished  the  equiv¬ 
alent  of  a  college  course. 

4.  That  the  ministerial  course  be  a  college  course,  and  that  the 
fourteenth-grade  ministerial  course  in  our  training  schools  be  re¬ 
garded  as  an  elementary,  or  junior,  ministerial  course. 

5.  That  in  order  to  strengthen  the  Bible  teaching  in  our  colleges, 
the  following  instructions  in  “Counsels  to  Teachers”  be  carefully 
considered :  — 

“In  our  schools  the  work  of  teaching  the  Scriptures  to  the  youth 
is  not  to  be  left  wholly  with  one  teacher  for  a  long  series  of  years. 
The  Bible  teacher  may  be  well  able  to  present  the  truth,  and  yet  it 
is  not  the  best  experience  for  the  students,  that  their  study  of  the 
Word  of  God  should  be  directed  by  one  man  only,  term  after  term 
and  year  after  year.  Different  teachers  should  have  a  part  in  the 
work,  even  though  they  may  not  all  have  so  full  an  understand¬ 
ing  of  the  Scriptures.  If  several  in  our  larger  schools  unite  in  the 
work  of  teaching  the  Scriptures,  the  students  may  thus  have  the 
benefit  of  the  talents  of  several.” — Page  432. 

6.  That  in  the  training  of  the  ministry  we  emphasize  the  impor¬ 
tance  of  Greek  and  Hebrew,  in  order  that  the  student  may  better 
understand  the  life  and  thought,  the  manners  and  customs,  of  people 
living  in  Bible  times  and  the  writers  of  the  Bible,  to  the  end  that 
candidates  for  the  ministry  may  better  understand  the  teaching  of 
the  Sacred  Scriptures. 

7.  That  in  the  ijiinisterial  course  a  definite  assigned  amount  of 
field  work  be  required  of  each  student;  and  that  where  this  work  is 
carried  on  under  the  direction  of  a  teacher  who  has  time  to  supervise 
it  critically,  credit  be  given  in  the  college  course  in  the  same  way  as 
laboratory  work  in  science  is  credited. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


89 


This  gospel  of  the  kingdom  is  to  be  “preached  in  all  the  world 
for  a  witness  unto  all  nations;  and  then  shall  the  end  come.”  Our 
message  is  to  go  to  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  high  as  well  as  the  low. 
Great  cities  scarcely  vet  entered  need  ministers  able  to  carry  on  sus¬ 
tained  efforts.  Evangelists  are  in  demand  in  the  mission  fields. 
The  rapid  finishing  of  the  work  depends  in  a  very  large  measure  upon 
the  growth  and  development  of  our  ministry.  Where  shall  we  get 
recruits  if  it  be  not  from  our  schools? 

DISCUSSION 

E.  J.  Hibbard:  I  am  sure  that  all  present  heartily  concur  in  all 
that  has  been  presented  in  this  paper.  We  have  all  seen,  especially 
those  who  have  been  in  the  field,  the  need  of  an  educated  ministry. 

I  believe  that  our  ministerial  course  is  too  short,  as  intimated. 
In  the  theological  seminaries  of  the  world  they  rather  laugh  at  our 
ministerial  course  being  only  fourteen  grades,  two  years  short  of  the 
college  course,  whereas  they  have  the  college  course  and  three  years 
in  addition.  But  I  know  that  we  have  a  quick  work  to  perform, 
that  we  have  to  present  this  truth  to  this  generation,  and  I  do  not 
expect  that  every  person  can  go  through  even  a  fourteen-grade  course, 
but  I  should  think  the  majority  ought  to  do  that. 

Professor  Shaw  has  emphasized  the  need  of  the  Greek  and  Hebrew 
languages,  in  which  all  of  us  must  concur.  Some  of  the  older  minis¬ 
ters  did  not  have  that  opportunity,  but  I  believe  that  all  should  have 
it.  I  also  believe  that  the  field  work  is  very  essential,  and  that  the 
Bible  teacher  could  not  himself  spend  enough  time  in  the  field  during 
the  school  year,  with  those  who  are  in  the  ministerial  course,  to  give 
them  the  training  they  should  have.  They  should  have  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  going  with  successful  evangelists  into  the  field  during  the 
summer.  You  know  how  Timothy  was  trained.  I  believe  that  is 
the  right  way.  He  was  in  the  field  with  his  teacher  Paul,  and  thus 
he  became  a  strong  worker. 

A  ministerial  department  in  the  school  has  been  mentioned.  I 
had  not  thought  of  that  before;  it  may  develop  in  time. 

I  believe  in  the  “call”  to  the  ministry.  When  all  the  education 
is  acquired  that  is  needed  in  both  our  mother  tongue  and  in  Greek 
and  Hebrew,  and  some  other  modern  language  perhaps,  as  well  as 
the  knowledge  of  history,  science,  and  psychology, —  we  may  have 
all  that,  and  still  be  fit  for  nothing  in  the  ministry.  Paul  put  it  this 
way:  “When  it  pleased  God,  who  .  .  .  called  me  by  his  grace,  to  reveal 
his  Son  in  me,  that  I  might  preach  him  among  the  heathen;  immedi¬ 
ately  I  conferred  not  with  flesh  and  blood.”  With  a  more  limited 


90 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


education  a  person  may  be  successful,  while  with  all  the  education 
in  the  world,  without  that  call,  he  would  be  unsuccessful. 

I.  H.  Evans:  I  believe  in  the  theories  advanced  in  the  paper.  I 
have  for  some  years  thought  we  ought  to  endeavor  to  strengthen  our 
ministry  by  getting  our  very  brightest  and  strongest  young  men  into 
it.  But  we  have  never  been  able  to  persuade  some  of  the  strongest 
men  to  enter  the  ministry.  The  work  does  not  appeal  to  them, 
sometimes  because  they  think  it  is  a  cheap  work. 

I  do  not  believe  it  will  debar  consecrated  young  men  to  ask  that 
they  finish  sixteen  grades.  While  this  may  not  apply  to  men  who  are 
somewhat  advanced  in  years,  yet  it  could  apply  to  young  men  who 
have  quick  minds. 

We  must  build  our  work  on  the  instructions  we  have  received 
from  the  spirit  of  prophecy.  We  shall  make  a  fatal  mistake  if  we 
think  that  because  a  man  has  a  degree  or  high  literary  attainments, 
he  has  the  power  that  those  have  who  cherish  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
their  hearts. 

Education  can  never  take  the  place  of  consecration  and  faith  in 
God.  But  I  do  not  think  any  man  in  the  ministry  could  have  too 
much  education,  provided  he  is  of  a  humble  mind,  and  does  not  de¬ 
pend  upon  his  education  for  ability  to  accomplish  results.  I  think 
a  man  should  train  his  mind  to  the  highest  possible  degree,  not  that 
he  may  depend  upon  it  to  accomplish  work,  but  that  he  may  better 
honor  and  glorify  God. 

But  after  we  have  said  it  all,  and  placed  the  standard  high,  we 
must  never  depart  from  the  simplicity  of  the  faith,  nor  from  the  idea 
that  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  in  the  hearts  of  the  children  of 
men  that  works  results.  Education  can  never  do  it.  You  can  give 
a  man  the  highest  training  in  the  world,  but  that  does  not  give  him 
the  power  to  win  souls  to  Christ.  This  must  come  from  living  in  close 
connection  with  God,  with  the  Word  of  God,  and  with  the  Holy 
Spirit.  So  I  believe  that  we  ought  to  train  our  young  people  in  har¬ 
mony  with  the  instructions  we  have  received  in  the  spirit  of  proph¬ 
ecy,  train  them  to  use  their  mind  and  all  their  powers  to  the  best 
advantage;  and  yet  teach  them  that  there  is  no  power  in  education 
alone,  but  rather  in  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

E.  Griggs:  I  wish  to  speak  of  the  influence  of  strong  Bible  teach¬ 
ers  in  our  schools  in  leading  young  men  into  the  ministry.  Those 
of  us  who  have  had  the  opportunity  to  observe  students  while  choos¬ 
ing  their  profession  or  their  calling  in  life,  know  that  they  are  greatly 
influenced  by  the  teacher'  from  whom  they  receive  strong  instruction. 
I  have  seen  students  over  and  over  again  decide  to  take  up  the  teach¬ 
ing  of  English,  or  mathematics,  or  science,  or  any  other  subject,  sim- 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


91 


ply  because  they  were  under  the  influence  of  a  strong  science,  Eng¬ 
lish,  or  mathematics  teacher. 

It  seems  to  me  we  must  make  this  one  great  point,  to  bring  into 
our  schools  men  who  can  preach.  I  like  the  idea  suggested  that  we 
have  some  one  to  conduct  “laboratory”  work  in  connection  with 
our  ministerial  course.  That  person  must  be  a  preacher.  He  must 
be  one  of  strong  personality,  one  who  loves  God,  one  who  is  very 
spiritual,  and  he  must  be  one  of  good  scholarship.  Now  you  put 
young  men  under  a  person  of  strong  personality,  a  good  speaker, 
with  high  scholarship,  and  above  all  of  good  Christian  character, 
and  you  will  make  preachers,  and  you  won’t  make  preachers  without 
this.  It  does  not  make  much  difference  how  you  legislate  upon  the 
matter,  men  must  be  brought  into  our  schools  who  can  influence  the 
students;  for  the  majority  of  our  boys  and  girls  have  but  little  idea 
what  they  are  going  to  do  in  life.  They  come  here  to  get  their  idea, 
and  we  must  emphasize  this  point,  and  work  to  it.  We  must  look 
the  country  over  to  obtain  the  very  strongest  men,  men  who  have 
had  field  experience,  men  who  are  practical  in  their  teaching  as  well 
as  strong  in  their  scholarship.  Such  teachers  will  lead  scores  of  our 
young  men  into  the  ministry  where  we  are  now  getting  only  a  very- 
few. 

M.  E.  Kern:  I  want  to  second  what  Brother  Shaw  has  said  about 
the  Bible  work.  I  do  not  believe  that  we  can  ever  meet  the  mind  of 
the  Spirit  of  God,  as  revealed  in  the.se  urgent  testimonies  in  regard 
to  the  city  work,  unless  we  have  a  stronger  and  better  equipped  corps 
of  Bible  workers.  And  I  believe  they  ought  to  receive  a  good  edu¬ 
cation. 

I  would  rather  preach  a  sermon  to  an  audience  which  has  little 
opportunity'  to  talk  back  than  to  sit  down  in  the  home  of  an  intel¬ 
ligent  family  and  try  to  teach  the  truth  to  them,  if  I  felt  weak  on 
the  subject.  Yet  I  have  known  of  cases  in  which  girls  who  had  just 
accepted  the  truth  were  encouraged  by  the  minister  to  go  directly 
into  the  Bible  work.  I  believe  our  Bible  workers  ought  to  have  a 
good  education. 

I  believe  we  ought  to  have  “laboratory”  work  also.  I  never  ar¬ 
ranged  anything  that  has  given  me  more  satisfaction  than  the  plan 
we  had  in  the  Washington  Seminary  in  our  Bible  workers’  course. 
I  entered  upon  it  with  fear  and  trembling,  because  I  felt  that  that 
Monday  would  be  blue  Monday, —  that  after  the  week’s  work  they 
would  not  want  to  start  out  the  first  day  of  the  new  week  in  that 
practical  work.  It  would  be  something  like  a  canvasser  starting  out 
on  Monday  morning.  But  I  found  the  opposite  to  be  true.  When  some 
of  those  girls  left  as  missionaries,  one  of  the  things  they  felt  saddest 


92 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


about  leaving  was  their  Bible  work  in  the  city.  I  believe  if  we 
would  take  hold  of  this  problem  and  arrange  a  good  strong  Bible 
workers’  course  with  this  field  work,  and  give  our  young  women  a 
thorough  education,  we  should  be  able  to  reach  the  people  in  the 
cities,  and  not  until  then.  You  can  plant  your  tent  in  the  midst  of 
fine  houses,  but  the  people  will  not  come  to  the  tent.  Yet  the  Bible 
workers  can  enter  these  homes,  and  find  people  just  as  hungry  for 
God  as  those  who  live  in  the  poor  houses. 

M.  E.  Olsen:  The  English  teacher  comes  as  close  to  the  hearts 
of  the  pupils  perhaps  as  any  other  teacher,  and  has  many  oppor¬ 
tunities  to  turn  a  young  man  toward  the  ministry.  We  study  the  work 
of  great  writers  who  have  written  on  religion,  we  study  their  ser¬ 
mons,  and  it  leads  our  minds  out  toward  these  deeper  things  of  life. 
In  rhetoric  one  makes  outlines  of  sermons,  both  for  Bible-reading 
work  and  for  the  actual  work  of  the  ministry.  The  English  teacher, 
if  he  is  practical  and  wise,  can  very  often  direct  the  minds  of  his  bright¬ 
est  and  best  pupils,  holding  up  before  them  the  gospel  ministry  as 
their  life  work.  I  do  believe  that  as  teachers  every  one  of  us  should 
pick  out  the  brightest  and  best  men  in  our  schools,  and  direct  their 
attention  toward  the  gospel  ministry. 

W.  E.  Howell:  Our  discussion  so  far  has  laid  emphasis  generally 
upon  what  the  college  can  do  by  way  of  strengthening  our  ministry. 
I  am  in  sympathy  with  all  the  sentiments  that  have  been  expressed 
here  this  morning.  But  I  would  not  have  anybody  given  the  impres¬ 
sion  that  our  academies  have  not  a  very  important  part  in  giving 
students  a  preparation  for  the  ministry. 

A  flour  mill  is  a  very  practical  thing.  It  turns  out  an  important 
product,  and  one  which  we  can  all  use.  But  what  could  the  flour 
mill  do  without  a  good  grist  in  its  hoppers,  without  the  wheat?  What 
could  the  miller  do  without  the  farmer?  Our  academies  have  a  chance 
to  produce  the  grist,  and  I  look  upon  them  as  among  the  most  im¬ 
portant  elements  in  contributing  strong  young  men  for  the  ministry, 
and  women  for  the  Bible  work.  I  believe  much  can  be  done  toward 
directing  the  minds  of  young  people  to  this  work,  in  creating  an  at¬ 
mosphere  in  the  academy  that  will  set  them  to  thinking  seriously  in 
this  direction.  A  most  indispensable  part  of  the  preparation  can  be 
done  in  our  academies. 

O.  J.  Graf:  I  appreciate  very  much  the  ideals  and  instruction 
given  in  the  paper,  and  I  wish  we  could  have  a  little  time  to  talk  on 
how  to  make  our  work  still  more  practical.  I  am  very  thankful  for 
the  splendid  progress  that  has  been  made  in  the  last  few  years  along 
this  line.  I  remember  ten  or  twelve  years  ago,  when  I  entered  one 
of  our  schools,  there  was  just  one  young  man  in  the  whole  school 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


93 


that  was  headed  toward  the  ministerial  course,  and  lie  was  expelled 
before  the  end  of  the  year. 

When  we  see  the  situation  as  it  is  today,  we  are  constrained  to 
say,  Behold  what  God  hath  wrought!  In  every  one  of  our  colleges 
there  is  a  large  company  of  young  men  and  women  looking  forward 
definitely  to  this  line  of  work.  I  am  thankful  to  be  able  to  report 
from  our  school  that  every  one  of  our  college  graduates  is  headed  for 
the  ministry,  and  there  are  several  who  finish  the  fourteenth-grade 
course,  pointing  to  the  ministry  also. 

The  young  people  have  spontaneously  organized  a  Bible  workers’ 
band  and  a  ministerial  band.  This  year  they  went  out  a  few  miles 
from  the  college,  one  company  engaging  a  church  and  another  a  school- 
house,  and  there  the  Bible  workers  conducted  a  Sunday  school  and 
the  ministerial  band  conducted  Sunday  evening  meetings.  As  the 
result  of  that  effort  once  a  week,  for  only  a  short  time,  seven  are  keep¬ 
ing  the  Sabbath.  Some  of  them  were  baptized  the  last  day  of  school. 


THE  HIGH  CALLING  OF  EDUCATING  OUR  BOYS 

AND  GIRLS 

W.  E.  HOWELL 

In  consenting  to  offer  to  this  Council  some  thoughts  on  the  high 
calling  of  the  teacher,  I  do  so  with  the  feeling  that  I  am  incapable 
of  doing  the  subject  the  justice  it  richly  deserves.  This  is  not  be 
cause  I  fail  to  have  ideals  for  the  teacher,  but  because  in  my 
own  experience  those  ideals  are  still  too  largely  in  an  ideal  state. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  I  had  no  vision  of  this  sacred  vocation  which 
had  not  been  translated  into  reality,  then,  as  a  member  of  the  profes¬ 
sion  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  I  should  count  myself  of  all  men 
most  miserable. 

I  have  ventured  to  speak  of  teaching  as  a  high  calling.  I  regard 
it  as  one  of  the  highest  of  human  callings.  Christianity  itself  is  said 
in  the  Holy  Book  to  be  “the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus.” 
I  accept  it  as  such,  with  all  that  it  means  in  its  fullest  realization, 
and  I  want  to  know  more  of  what  it  does  really  mean.  But  within 
the  sacred  precinct  of  applied  Christianity,  the  same  Holy  Book 
makes  it  clear  that  there  are  distinct  gifts,  and  if  gifts,  then  distinct 
fields  in  which  to  exercise  them.  Yet,  though  distinct,  these  gifts 
are  all  ministered  by  the  same  Spirit.  For  this  reason  I  do  not  want 
to  draw  any  invidious  comparisons  between  the  gifts.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  customary,  and  I  think  justifiable,  for  a  man  to  speak  most 
strongly  of  those  things  that  lie  within  the  range  of  personal  experi¬ 
ence  and  observation.  In  dealing  with  teaching,  therefore,  I  feel  that 
I  am  in  good  company  when  I  say  with  Paul,  “I  magnify  mine  office.” 


94 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


In  the  enumeration  of  the  gifts  in  i  Corinthians  12,  the  first  three 
are  mentioned  thus:  “First  apostles,  secondarily  prophets,  thirdly 
teachers.”  I  do  not  infer  from  this  arrangement  that  teaching  is 
necessarily  third  in  importance.  These  are  the  only  three  mentioned 
by  number,  and  I  am  inclined  to  regard  them  as  a  trinity  of  callings, 
a  trinity  of  gospel  forces,  all  animated  by  the  same  Spirit,  all  stand¬ 
ing  upon  holy  ground,  all  operating  to  one  common,  beneficent  end. 
If  I  do  not  take  this  view,  then  I  am  compelled  to  assign  teaching  the 
place  of  first  importance  in  that  other  trinity  of  callings  repeatedly 
attributed  to  the  Saviour, — “teaching,  .  .  .  and  preaching,  .  . -.  and 
healing.”  The  thing  I  wish  to  emphasize  here  is  that  teaching 
is  at  least  the  third  person  of  a  trinity  of  callings  which  together 
form  a  triune  force  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel.  It  is  therefore 
a  spiritual  calling,  it  is  therefore  a  high  calling,  it  is  therefore  one  of 
the  three  highest  of  callings  to  which  men  are  eligible  through  the 
Spirit. 

Let  us  look  into  it  more  closely.  Teaching  gains  its  standing  as 
a  high  calling  from  the  nature  of  its  origin  as  a  gift,  not  from  the  nature 
or  grade  of  the  persons  upon  whom  the  gift  is  exercised.  No  one, 
then,  who  has  the  true  view  of  this  gift, —  God’s  view,  as  I  believe, — 
will  draw  any  disparaging  comparison  between  him  who  teaches  the 
Kafir  or  Hottentot  his  A  B  C’s,  and  him  who  acts  as  tutor  to  the 
king’s  son.  Indeed,  if  the  highness  of  the  teacher’s  calling  bears  any 
relation  to  the  need  of  the  ones  taught,  the  teacher  of  the  Hottentot 
fills  the  higher  place  of  the  two.  Does  any  one  suppose  for  a  moment 
that  Jesus,  the  world’s  master  teacher,  marred  the  sacredness  of  his 
calling  when  he  laid  his  hand  upon  the  wretched,  repulsive  leper  out¬ 
cast,  and  spoke  words  of  life  and  comfort  to  his  soul,  any  more  than  he 
did  in  the  moonlight  hour  he  spent  in  teaching  that  honorable  member 
of  the  Sanhedrin  those  wonderful  lessons  on  the  spiritual  birth?  Does 
any  one  think  that  he  lapsed  to  any  degree  from  his  dignity  or  rank 
as  a  teacher  when  he  laid  his  hands  upon  the  little  children  and  blessed 
them,  and  said  to  us  all,  “Except  ye  .  .  .  become  as  little  children, 
ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven”? —  I  trow  not.  God 
confers  no  gift  that  is  unworthy  the  Giver.  It  is  only  the  blindness 
and  ignorance  of  men  that  fail  to  estimate  his  gifts  at  their  true  value. 

But  perhaps  my  thoughts  are  of  scenes  and  events  too  far  away, 
and  if  they  have  any  enchantment,  it  may,  forsooth,  be  the  enchant¬ 
ment  of  distance.  Let  us  call  them  closer  home,  for  we  have  some 
real  problems  right  by  us  to  be  solved.  We  are  working  earnestly 
to  build  up  an  efficient  system  of  schools.  In  the  limitation  of  human 
terms,  we  speak  of  one  phase  of  it  as  higher  education,  of  another  as 
the  lower  grades.  Humanlike,  we  incline  to  regard  the  college  teacher 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


95 


as  filling  a  higher  calling  than  the  schoolmistress  with  a  room  full  of 
little  tots  —  dear,  sweet  bundles  of  innocence  that  they  are!  It  is 
this  idol  that  has  been  set  up  in  the  groves  of  Canaan  which  I  desire, 
with  all  the  tools  of  iconoclasm  I  can  muster,  to  smash  into  millions 
of  atoms,  grind  it  to  powder,  and  strew  it  upon  the  waters  of  the 
swollen  Tiber,  that  the  Tiber  may  bear  it  away  into  the  sea  of  oblivion. 

What  are  some  of  the  echoes  we  hear  reverberating  through  the 
land?  “I  should  like  to  take  the  normal  course  and  be  a  teacher  if 
I  didn’t  have  to  teach  children 

Why!  dear  soul,  were  you  never  a  child?  Did  you  never  gaze 
with  inquiring  eyes  into  your  mother’s  face  as  you  asked  her  how  the 
fly  can  walk  upside  down  on  the  ceiling,  and  did  you  not  hang  upon 
her  lips  with  astonishment  as  she  explained  the  curious  structure  of 
its  feet?  Did  you  never  ask  your  mother  to  spell  world  for  you, 
then  look  at  her  with  open-mouthed  wonder  that  so  big  a  thing  could 
have  so  small  a  name?  Do  you  not  remember  when  you  believed 
with  all  your  credulous  little  soul  that  Santa  Claus  actually  came 
down  the  chimney  on  Christmas  Eve  and  left  a  package  larger 
than  the  chimney  opening  itself?  Have  you  never  read  of  these  little 
ones  in  Holy  Writ  that  “in  heaven  their  angels  do  always  behold  the 
face  of  my  Father”?  Yet,  with  all  their  sweet  innocence,  their  won¬ 
dering  amazement  at  common  facts,  their  simple,  unfeigned  faith, 
and  their  guardian  angels,  you  do  not  want  to  teach  children! 

But  I  hear  another  echo:  “I  expect  to  complete  the  normal  course 
this  year.  I  prefer  to  teach  in  an  academy,  but  if  there  is  no  opening, 
I  might  teach  a  church  school  for  the  time  being.” 

Do  you  not  know,  dear  aspirant,  that  we  have  nearly  five  hundred 
church  schools  in  the  North  American  Division,  but  only  forty-six 
academies  and  intermediate  schools;  and  that  the  church-school  en¬ 
rollment  is  nearly  10,000,  while  that  of  our  secondary  schools  approx¬ 
imates  only  3,100? 

If  you  want  a  wide  field,  you  will  find  it  in  the  church  school, 
especially  when  you  bear  in  mind  that  only  about  half  of  our  children 
are  yet  enrolled  in  a  church  school.  The  other  half  are  waiting  for 
qualified  teachers.  If  you  are  looking  for  a  needy  field,  here  it  cer¬ 
tainly  is,  especially  if  you  stop  to  think  that  from  one  half  to  three 
quarters  of  the  teachers  already  engaged  in  the  church  school  are  not 
normal-trained  teachers.  If  you  want  a  field  commensurate  to  the 
full  proportions  of  your  ability  as  a  teacher,  natural  and  cultivated, 
I  invite  your  attention  to  the  waiting  multitude  of  our  boys  and  girls 
of  church-school  age.  If  you  want  a  hard  field,  I  am  frank  enough 
to  say  that  you  will  find  the  path  of  the  church-school  teacher  beset 
with  thorns. 


96 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONABY  VOLUNTEEK 


On  the  other  hand,  I  hasten  to  remind  you  that  the  most  beau¬ 
tiful  rose  that  blows  is  found  upon  a  thorn  bush.  If  you  want  a  work 
that  will  develop  your  ability  to  teach  at  a  more  rapid  rate  per  hour 
than  any  other  line,  and  that  will  tax  all  your  resources,  native  or 
acquired,  to  the  utmost  limit  every  day,  take  up  teaching  in  a  church 
school;  for  it  is  only  by  such  taxation  that  you  will  grow. 

One  more  echo  I  hear:  “I  have  just  finished  my  college  course, 
receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  Do  you  know  of  any  open¬ 
ing  in  one  of  our  colleges  where  I  can  teach  next  year?” 

No,  dear  Bachelor,  I  am  happy  to  say  that  our  colleges  have  ad¬ 
vanced  so  far  in  practical  wisdom  that  they  have  largely  discontinued 
the  annual  custom  of  making  openings  on  their  faculty.  They  have 
caught  the  idea  that  continuous  tenure  of  position  is  one  of  the  highest 
requisites  to  efficiency  in  teaching.  But  I  would  call  your  attention 
to  the  fact  that  our  intermediate  schools  and  academies  are  still 
wrestling  on  the  experimental  stage,  not  for  exhibition,  but  for  expe¬ 
rience.  They  are  striving  toward  the  ideal  of  building  up  their  fac¬ 
ulties  with  college-trained  men  and  women,  but  they  are  still  working 
on  something  like  a  fifty-per-cent  margin.  In  truth,  if  you  aspire 
to  college  teaching,  five  to  ten  years  of  secondary  teaching  is  the  best 
possible  preparation  for  it:  because  our  colleges  may  make  no  opening 
for  you  on  their  faculties  of  seasoned  men  short  of  that  length  of 
time;  because  boys  and  girls  of  the  academy  age  will  either  confirm 
your  calling  as  a  teacher,  or  will  demolish  your  ambitions  in  that  di¬ 
rection  before  you  take  a  higher  seat  and  have  farther  to  fall;  be¬ 
cause  the  enrollment  in  our  secondary  schools  is  about  six  times  that 
in  the  college  proper  and  always  will  be;  because  we  have  yet  fallen 
considerably  short  of  demonstrating  what  the  possibilities  of  a  well- 
conducted  ten-  or  twelve-grade  school  are;  because  one  of  the  great¬ 
est  needs  of  these  same  schools  is  to  recognize  that  their  sphere  of  use¬ 
fulness  is  sufficiently  large  and  sufficiently  honorable  to  forego  the 
necessity  of  attempting  to  imitate  the  college  in  methods  and  aims; 
because  when  we  have  raised  the  efficiency  of  our  intermediate  schools 
and  academies  to  where  the  honor  of  our  cause  demands,  we  shall 
draw  from  the  high  school  and  other  secular  institutions  a  multitude 
of  the  intellectual  flower  of  our  adolescent  flock. 

But  the  secondary  school  is  not  the  only  institution,  my  dear 
Bachelor,  that  is  beckoning  you  to  a  high  and  honorable  calling. 
The  church  school  is  already  stretching  her  pleading  hands  across 
the  gulf  to  the  college,  and  bidding  for  the  best  that  is  to  be  had;  for 
the  best  is  none  too  good  for  her  purposes.  Did  you  ever  stop  to 
think  that  some  of  the  brightest  stars  in  the  world’s  galaxy  of  educators 
reached  their  zenith  via  the  orbit  of  the  elementary  school?  Is  child 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


97 


education  worthy  of  a  Froebel  or  a  Pestalozzi,  of  a  Horace  Mann  or 
a  Colonel  Parker?  Is  the  education  of  Seventh-day  Adventist  chil¬ 
dren  and  adolescent  youth  worthy  the  heart  throbs  and  soul  travail 
found  in  enough  pages  to  make  a  volume  in  the  writings  of  Mrs.  E.  G. 
White?  What  do  we  find  in  many  an  elementary  schoolroom  in  the 
secular  system?  —  University  graduates,  some  with  advantages  of 
study  abroad,  making  child  study  and  elementary  teaching  a  life 
work.  In  the  secondary  school  also  we  find  plenty  of  teachers  and 
principals  with  an  M.  A.  or  Ph.  D.,  devoting  their  lives  to  the  welfare 
of  boys  and  girls  in  their  teens.  Are  our  own  children  any  less  worthy 
the  very  best  we  can  give  them? 

In  closing,  I  have  only  to  iterate  what  I  said  at  the  beginning: 
The  highness  of  the  teacher’s  calling  does  not  take  its  measure  from 
the  age,  race,  or  rank  of  the  pupils  taught,  but  from  the  exalted 
Source  of  this  eminently  spiritual  gift.  The  sooner  we  can  remove 
from  our  minds  the  sense  of  discrimination  we  almost  habitually 
make  in  the  teaching  profession  between  the  relative  rank  of  the  church - 
school  teacher,  the  academy  teacher,  and  the  college  teacher,  the  sooner 
shall  we  get  a  new  vision  of  the  highness  of  one  of  the  highest  and  most 
honorable  of  divine-human  callings.  Peter  was  twice  bidden  to  feed 
the  lambs,  once  to  feed  the  sheep.  Without  wresting  the  meaning 
of  this  divine  commission,  may  we  not  see  in  it  an  agreement  with 
the  fact  that  in  the  entire  scope  of  education  from  the  kindergarten 
to  the  doctorate,  at  least  twice  as  much  time  is  spent  in  the  childhood 
and  adolescent  period  as  in  the  adult;  that  far  more  than  twice  as 
many  are  to  be  taught  during  the  former  ages  as  during  the  latter; 
and  that  possibly  the  teachers  in  our  church  schools  and  academies 
should  be  twice  as  efficient  in  their  line  as  those  who  teach  in  the 
college?  Can  such  a  standard  ever  be  reached  so  long  as  we  look 
upon  church -school  or  academy  teaching  as  in  any  sense  inferior  to 
that  of  the  so-called  “higher”  institution,  or  so  long  as  we  allow  our¬ 
selves  to  regard  elementary  or  secondary  teaching  as  a  temporary 
calling  —  just  to  fill  in  the  time  till  something  better  turns  up? 

Who,  then,  is  ready  to  champion  the  education  of  our  noble  boys 
and  girls  in  the  so-called  “lower  grades”  as  a  calling  worthy  of  the 
best  that  is  in  us,  and  to  champion  it  for  life? 


7 


MAGNIFYING  THE  OFFICE  OF 
SUPERINTENDENT 


ALMETTA  GARRETT 

It  has  been  but  a  few  years  since  our  elementary  school  work 
began  to  be  conducted  on  a  systematized  plan.  The  schools  were 
taught  under  the  supervision  of  no  one  besides  the  teacher  and  the 
patrons.  Each  patron  had  his  own  ideas  about  the  work  of  the  teacher 
and  the  school.  It  was  like  a  flock  without  a  shepherd,  or  rather 
like  a  flock  with  many  shepherds,  each  considering  his  pasture  the 
best  food  for  the  sustenance  of  the  flock. 

If  there  is  any  one  agency  of  the  third  angel’s  message  that  needs 
a  head,  an  organization,  more  than  another,  it  is  the  conference 
church  schools.  I  am  happy  to*  state  that  we  have  come  to  the  time 
when  this  need  has  been  recognized,  and  to  a  great  extent  material 
has  been  furnished  which  is  bringing  these  schools  up  to  the  stand¬ 
ard  where  their  work  is  accredited  by  the  schools  in  the  union  confer¬ 
ence  and  by  the  public  schools. 

Magnifying  the  office  of  superintendent  means  more  than  sitting 
in  an  office  at  a  desk  writing  letters.  It  is  the  superintendent’s  busi¬ 
ness  to  be  engaged  in  the  Master’s  work.  His  work  was  successful 
because  he  went  among  the  people.  He  made  their  interest  his  in¬ 
terest,  and  in  this  way  they  became  interested  in  his  work,  and  many 
received  his  wonderful  teaching.  So  it  is  to  the  interest  of  the  work 
that  the  one  who  has  supervision  go  out  among  the  churches,  among 
the  people,  and  meet  them  in  their  different  walks  of  life.  The  ne¬ 
cessity  of  having  our  own  schools  should  be  brought  before  the  people 
in  such  a  manner  that  they  will  sense  the  importance  of  placing  their 
children  in  them. 

A  superintendent  must  be  informed  as  to  the  actual  work  of  the 
church  schools.  But  the  information  must  not  stop  here.  The 
work  of  the  public  schools,  what  they  are  doing,  what  they  are  teach¬ 
ing,  should  be  known,  not  imagined.  Statements  about  these  educa¬ 
tional  lines  must  be  based  on  known  facts.  A  comparison  of  the  work 
of  the  public  school  and  of  the  church  should  never  fail  to  show  the 
difference  between  them, —  the  one  educating  for  this  world,  the  other 
for  the  world  to  come. 

No  doubt  the  question  of  poverty  will  meet  one  face  to  face  when 
the  necessity  of  a  church  school  is  mentioned,  but  by  using  tact  one 
may  gain  a  hearing  and  rouse  an  interest.  There  is  such  a  thing  as 
being  brave  enough  to  show  a  real  interest  in  the  fine  cattle  and  horses 
that  you  saw  in  the  pasture  when  you  were  on  the  way  to  the  home. 

98 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


99 


The  money  for  the  sale  of  one  cow  would  educate  two  of  the  children 
for  one  year  in  the  church  school.  Lead  on,  and  by  a  little  praise 
of  John’s  or  Mary’s  ability  to  do  something,  you  may  work  wonders. 
In  fact,  the  anticipation  may  be  so  great  that  the  father  and  mother 
will  see  John  across  the  waters  in  the  foreign  field  and  Mary  teaching 
music  in  one  of  our  colleges.  Then  they  will  be  ready  to  sacrifice 
something,  a  horse  perhaps,  that  their  children  may  be  among  those 
who  are  helping  to  carry  the  message  to  the  world  in  this  generation. 
These  little  side  notes  count  in  the  work  of  the  superintendent. 

But  the  work  needs  still  more  magnifying.  There  must  be  a  place 
for  holding  the  school.  Perhaps  one  of  the  rooms  in  the  home  can 
be  spared  for  this  purpose,  or  in  some  way  a  building  erected.  The 
whole  church  is  interested,  at  least  while  you  are  with  them,  and  the 
good  work  is  begun.  The  next  step  is  to  get  in  touch  with  a  teacher 
who  is  willing  to  make  the  sacrifice  and  accept  an  elementary  school 
salary. 

By  this  time  a  return  to  the  office  is  necessary.  With  renewed 
effort  the  click  of  the  typewriter  indicates  that  letters  are  being 
written  to  every  church  in  the  conference  on  the  importance  of  es¬ 
tablishing  schools  and  giving  our  children  and  youth  a  Christian 
education. 

But  there  is  something  more  than  just  getting  the  school  started. 
Our  denominational  books  must  be  introduced.  To  secure  a  uni¬ 
formity  of  textbooks  throughout  the  State  is  indeed  a  never-ending 
task.  It  is  a  progressive  announcement  to  each  newly  organized 
school.  This  takes  persuasion,  tact,  interest,  determination,  and 
everlasting  stick-to-it-iveness.  And  even  then  days  grow  into  weeks, 
and  weeks  into  months,  and  months  into  years,  before  the  goal  is 
reached.  But  it  can  be  done.  It  has  been  done. 

In  my  work  I  felt  the  need  of  a  State  calendar,  and  prepared  one. 
This  has  proved  helpful  to  the  teachers,  and  has  saved  the  writing  of 
numerous  letters  about  the  grades. 

Besides  this  there  was  need  of  a  special  course  of  study.  The 
course  was  prepared  in  such  a  way  that  every  teacher  knew  at  the  end 
of  the  second,  fourth,  sixth,  and  eighth  months  just  the  page  on  which 
each  grade  should  be  at  that  time.  I  not  only  sent  this  outline  to 
the  teachers,  but  I  inserted  some  special  reminders  in  different  let¬ 
ters,  stating  that  I  should  like  them  to  compare  the  work  of  the  pupils 
with  the  course  of  study,  and  write  me  whether  they  were  able  to 
meet  the  requirements  or  not.  If  not,  I  must  know  the  reason. 
This  disclosed  some  doubts  and  misgivings  on  the  part  of  the  teachers, 
and  I  found  that  one  has  to  use  a  little  determination  and  firmness, 
even  with  teachers,  sometimes. 


100 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


The  plan  met  with  splendid  success.  It  gave  no  opportunity  for 
either  pupil  or  teacher  to  lag.  The  work  must  be  accomplished.  In 
this  way  the  graded  system  is  not  a  burden  but  rather  a  help  and 
pleasure  to  the  teacher.  It  is  a  strong  tie  that  binds  the  work  of  the 
teachers  and  the  superintendent  together. 

Magnifying  the  work  of  the  superintendent, —  the  title  stands  out 
in  bold-faced  type  when  one  takes  up  the  consideration  of  the  Teach¬ 
ers’  Reading  Course.  It  has  been  such  a  mere  speck  in  the  distance 
that  it  takes  more  than  a  magnifying  glass  to  bring  it  into  close  range. 

There  is  certainly  no  time  for  idle  waiting  when  this  is  placed 
before  the  teachers.  Excuses  real  and  imaginary  must  be  cast  aside, 
and  the  prevailing  cry  of  “too  busy”  is  completely  obsolete.  Even 
now  I  cannot  look  back  with  full  satisfaction,  and  say  that  all  my 
teachers  have  completed  these  courses.  It  is  a  hard  problem,  but 
I  am  not  ready  to  retreat. 

Final  examinations  should  be  a  special  feature  in  the  superintend¬ 
ent’s  work.  This  is  no  small  amount  of  work  for  the  superintendent. 
It  may  mean  the  grading  and  re-grading  and  approval  of  something 
over  two  hundred  papers  every  year,  but  it  is  well  worth  the  trouble, 
—  for  trouble  it  often  does  bring  in  various  ways,  especially  when 
some  fond  mother  “knows”  her  son  is  capable  of  being  promoted,  and 
the  papers  and  class  standing  convince  the  superintendent  otherwise. 

Then  comes  the  crucial  test  of  the  magnifying  of  the  office, —  for 
true  principle  or  for  policy’s  sake. 

The  circulation  of  the  Christian  Educator  is  a  feature  of  the  work 
that  belongs  to  the  superintendent.  This  magazine  should  not  only 
be  found  in  the  hands  of  the  teachers,  but  also  in  the  home  of  every 
Seventh-day  Adventist.  It  is  the  superintendent’s  duty  to  do  all 
he  can  to  bring  this  about.  This  magazine  is  for  the  home  and  the 
school.  Its  aim  is  to  help  both,  for  their  interests  are  one.  Not 
enough  has  been  accomplished  for  this  magazine. 

“Despise  not  the  day  of  small  things.”  The  live  superintendent 
does  more  than  visit  the  school  and  write  letters  while  he  is  there; 
he  sees  the  need  of  libraries,  maps,  globes,  dictionaries,  and  general 
equipment  in  our  schools.  He  sees  the  general  surroundings  inside 
and  outside  of  the  schoolroom.  All  these  are  to  be  carefully  considered. 

Questions  outside  of  the  schoolroom,  such  as  that  of  the  teacher’s 
boarding  place,  are  perhaps  at  times  the  most  perplexing  of  school 
problems.  Nevertheless,  patrons  can  be  convinced  that  they  must 
be  taken  into  consideration.  The  superintendent  who  recommends 
a  teacher  for  a  school,  and  does  not  inquire  about  the  boarding  place 
of  the  teacher  and  help  arrange  for  the  same,  ought  to  be  asked  to 
resign. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


101 


The  school  board  and  the  superintendent  should  counsel  with  each 
other  in  meetings  together.  To  counsel  with  the  president  and  the 
union  conference  secretary  will  do  much  for  the  advancement  of  the 
work.  The  patrons  may  be  called  together  and  a  general  talk  given 
on  education.  The  actual  need  and  demand  for  our  youth  and  chil¬ 
dren  to  receive  a  Christian  education,  is  a  topic  well  worth  con¬ 
sidering. 

New  methods  in  teaching  any  subject  should  be  introduced  into 
the  schools,  if  they  are  for  the  betterment  of  the  work.  Credit  for 
home  industrial  work,  helps  for  teachers,  all  require  an  unceasing 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  superintendent. 

I  know  of  nothing  that  makes  one  who  holds  the  office  feel  a  mag¬ 
nifying  effect  more  than  a  letter  from  the  secretary  of  this  Depart¬ 
ment  at  Washington.  Sometimes  it  is  just  a  word  of  commendation 
about  some  feature  of  the  work,  or  the  expression  of  interest  in  some 
special  line,  that  causes  the  wearied  superintendent  to  renew  his 
efforts  and  go  forth  amid  storm  and  sunshine,  for  not  only  figuratively 
speaking  are  these  things  to  be  met,  but  real  rain  and  snow,  mud, 
wind,  storm,  and  sunshine  are  encountered.  And  a  gentle  zephyr 
from  the  south  acts  as  a  soothing  balm  when  one  is  in  the  heart  of 
the  battle. 

We  would  not  fail  to  mention  the  reporting  of  the  work  of  differ¬ 
ent  schools  in  the  union  conference  paper.  It  helps  in  a  great  meas¬ 
ure.  It  provokes  others  to  good  works.  Conventions  will  help  to 
build  up  many  of  the  old  waste  places,  and  a  new  impetus  will  be  put 
into  the  work.  The  superintendent’s  record  books  will  contain  the 
grades  of  the  students  from  the  eighth  to  the  tenth  grade  inclusive. 

The  letter  of  the  superintendent  to  teachers  should  be  full  of  good 
courage;  and  when  asked  how  to  manage  some  perplexing  things 
that  teachers  are  meeting  from  time  to  time,  the  superintendent 
should  never  respond  with,  “Just  go  ahead,  you  will  come  out  all 
right,”  but  tell  them  some  way  to  meet  the  difficulty.  They  need 
advice,  and  it  is  a  privilege  to  be  able  to  help.  Paul  knew  this  when 
he  wrote  to  the  Philippians,  “I  thank  my  God  upon  every  remem¬ 
brance  of  you,  always  in  every  prayer  of  mine,  .  .  .  for  your  fellow¬ 
ship  in  the  gospel,  .  .  .  being  confident  of  this  very  thing,  that  he 
which  hath  begun  a  good  work  in  you  will  perform  it  until  the  day 
of  Jesus  Christ.”  Mentioning  these  things  in  connection  with  the 
junior  work  of  the  church  schools,  which  should  be  the  means  of  many 
conversions,  will  surely  perform  the  good  work  until  the  end,  by  the 
faithful  church-school  teacher,  whose  crown  will  bear  more  stars 
than  those  of  some  of  us  who  are  holding  what  are  considered  higher 
positions. 


102 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


DISCUSSION 

C.  A.  Russell:  The  magnifying  glass  does  not  make  the  object 
scrutinized  any  larger;  it  simply  enlarges  the  vision  of  the  one  who 
is  scrutinizing.  I  can  conceive  of  no  more  important  work  in  a  con¬ 
ference  than  that  of  the  educational  superintendent.  I  am  so  glad 
that  emphasis  was  placed  on  the  preparation  of  the  individual  to 
take  up  this  work.  Sometimes  persons  have  been  chosen  to  the  office 
who  have  had  no  previous  experience.  They  are  unable  to  go  into 
the  schoolroom,  and  sitting  down  by  the  side  of  the  teacher,  point 
out  the  right  and  the  wrong  ways  of  doing  things. 

I  was  glad  also  for  the  emphasis  which  was  placed  on  the  matter 
of  field  work.  No  superintendent  can  get  the  results  that  should  be 
secured  by  simply  sitting  in  his  office  and  magnifying  the  office  check. 
I  believe  that  at  least  three  fourths  of  his  time  should  be  spent  in  field 
work;  and  I  believe  also  that  three  fourths  of  the  time  of  the  educa¬ 
tional  secretary  should  be  spent  in  actual  field  work.  In  the  end 
much  better  results  will  be  achieved.  I  am  not  by  this  seeking  to 
minimize  the  office  end  of  the  work,  but  I  do  want  to  magnify  the 
importance  of  getting  into  close,  active  contact  with  those  whom 
we  seek  to  help. 

I  like  the  idea  of  the  Manual,  and  the  definite  dividing  of  the  course 
of  study.  In  our  union  conference  we  have  for  a  number  of  years 
had  a  similar  plan.  We  have  divided  our  year’s  work  into  semesters, 
and  each  teacher  knows  when  he  has  completed  the  semester’s  work. 
At  the  end  of  the  semester  we  give  the  examination.  While  this 
makes  more  work  for  the  teachers  and  the  superintendent,  it  pays 
abundantly. 

The  matter  of  conventions  was  just  barely  touched  upon.  I  am 
sure  that  much  can  be  done  in  the  way  of  arousing  an  interest  in  our 
educational  work,  by  arranging  for  conventions  in  which  the  young 
people’s  work  can  be  united  with  the  educational.  My  experience 
has  been  that  this  is  one  of  the  best  ways  to  arouse  an  interest  in  the 
educational  work.  The  educational  secretary  in  the  union  conference 
and  the  secretary  of  the  local  conference  should  unite  in  these  efforts. 
They  should  work  shoulder  to  shoulder  to  build  up  schools  wherever 
they  are  needed. 

Another  .matter  that  was  not  mentioned:  The  magnifying  glass 
brings  out  the  hidden  things,  you  know.  I  believe  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  educational  superintendent,  the  one  who  comes  in  closest  personal 
touch  with  all  the  teachers  in  their  work,  to  attend  summer  school, 
and  assist  in  the  training  of  teachers  in  that  school.  I  believe  that 
those  who  are  right  out  in  the  field,  knowing  the  field  problems,  un- 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


103 


derstanding  just  what  the  teachers  have  to  meet,  should  he  the  ones 
who  should  be  present,  largely,  and  assist  in  the  training  of  these 
teachers,  rather  than  to  have  it  done  by  college  men  who  do  not  know 
these  problems. 

One  other  matter, —  that  of  parents’  meetings:  I  think  here  is  a 
duty  which  devolves  upon  the  educational  superintendent, —  the 
planning  for  and  conducting  of  parents’  meetings.  We  should  not 
wait  until  there  is  a  great  impending  crisis,  but  these  meetings  should 
be  held  regularly,  perhaps  once  a  month,  and  the  educational  secre¬ 
tary  should  provide  regular  programs.  I  know  of  no  way  in  which 
the  parents  and  the  teacher  can  come  together  and  cooperate  more 
closely  than  in  the  parents’  meetings. 

Whenever  the  superintendent  visits  a  school,  I  think  it  is  his 
privilege,  and  his  duty,  to  have  the  chairman  of  the  board  call  a  meet¬ 
ing  of  the  board,  and  then  sit  down  and  talk  over  school  and  board 
problems. 


THE  PURPOSE  IN  TEACHING 

I.  H.  EVANS 

This  morning  I  wish  to  study  the  purpose  of  teaching,  the  real 
objective  that  should  be  in  every  teacher’s  mind  and  heart  as  he 
tries  to  teach  and  conduct  his  classes. 

I  will  read  a  scripture  in  Romans  9:  1-2:  “I  say  the  truth  in  Christ, 
I  lie  not,  my  conscience  also  bearing  me  witness  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 
that  I  have  great  heaviness  and  continual  sorrow  in  my  heart.” 

When  Paul  wrote  that,  he  wrote  a  wonderful  experience,  an  ex¬ 
perience  which  can  never  be  understood  by  you  or  me  until  we  realize 
the  value  of  a  soul  as  judged  by  God’s  standard.  When  you  and  I 
have  such  a  feeling  in  our  hearts  for  the  lost  and  rebellious,  the  wicked 
and  incorrigible,  that  we  would  willingly  lay  down  our  lives  for  them, 
if  we  could  only  save  them,  we  are  in  a  condition  where  we  can  render 
them  help,  if  any  help  can  reach  them  through  us  by  the  influence  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  said  that  over  Andersonville  prison  were 
written  the  words,  “None  who  enter  here  ever  live  to  return.” 

I  believe  that  there  ought  to  be  written  over  every  college  threshold 
and  over  the  entrance  to  every  classroom,  “None  who  enter  here 
shall  by  the  grace  of  God  depart  from  this  school  till  they  have  found 
salvation  in  Jesus  Christ.”  And  every  teacher  who  crosses  that  thresh¬ 
old  should  make  a  covenant  with  God  that,  so  far  as  he  is  concerned, 
nothing  shall  be  left  undone  in  the  effort  to  win  these  boys  and  girls  to 
Jesus  Christ.  Really,  I  think  we  have  no  other  object  in  conducting 


104 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


a  school.  The  world  has  good  schools.  Our  public  schools  are 
splendid  so  far  as  acquiring  knowledge  is  concerned;  we  can  hardly 
equal  them.  But  they  do  not  attempt  to  deal  with  the  soul  and  the 
character;  or  if  they  deal  with  the  character,  they  do  not  deal  with 
religious  views,  and  they  never  think  of  bringing  the  individual  soul 
in  touch  with  Christ. 

Our  work  is  different.  There  is  just  as  much  difference  between 
worldly  schools  and  ours,  if  we  have  the  true  ideal,  as  there  is  between 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  and  wickedness,  sin,  the  natural  heart. 

I  turn  to  Ephesians  and  read  in  the  5th  chapter  a  statement 
that  I  think  we  should  all  aim  to  fulfil  in  our  classrooms.  Paul  speaks 
thus  of  the  purpose  of  Christ:  “That  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse 
it  [the  church]  with  the  washing  of  water  by  the  word,  that  he  might 
present  it  to  himself  a  glorious  church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle, 
or  any  such  thing;  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without  blemish.” 

To  meet  the  requirement  of  that  scripture  is  the  highest  education 
any  man  in  this  world  can  ever  possess.  I  would  rather  have  the 
experience  presented  in  these  two  verses  than  to  have  all  the  knowledge 
that  all  the  universities  on  earth  ever  could  give  me.  Why?  — 
Because  if  I  had  all  this  knowledge,  it  would  perish  in  a  little  while, 
but  if  I  had  perfection  of  character  and  was  clothed  with  the  right¬ 
eousness  that  is  here  described,  I  could  live  on  throughout  eternity. 
And  the  knowledge  that  I  could  get  out  of  an  earthly  school  in  a  few 
years  would  be  nothing  compared  to  the  knowledge  I  could  obtain 
throughout  the  endless  ages  of  eternity.  Here  we  spend  twenty-five 
or  thirty  years,  maybe,  trying  to  get  a  training,  and  almost  as  soon 
as  we  have  reached  the  acme  of  knowledge  we  begin  to  go  down,  and 
pretty  soon  it  is  all  gone,  and  our  powers  are  paralyzed,  for  we  are 
dead. 

O  my  friends,  what  a  wonderful  thing  it  is  to  fit  a  person  for  the 
great  university  of  heaven:  to  take  a  boy  and  so  teach  and  educate  him 
as  to  fit  him  for  heaven.  Then  the  education  really  begins.  He 
does  not  stay  in  that  school  merely  a  few  short  years,  but  he  goes 
on  through  all  the  endless  ages,  year  upon  year,  age  upon  age,  mil¬ 
lennium  upon  millennium.  Then,  my  friends,  will  be  the  time  when 
we  shall  really  know  the  value  of  true  education. 

Therefore,  I  believe  that  every  man,  every  teacher  should  have 
but  one  great  and  high  purpose  in  his  teaching,  and  that  is  to  lead 
to  Jesus  Christ  every  soul  that  comes  to  him.  This  does  not  mean 
that  a  man  will  be  indifferent  to  the  teaching  of  science,  or  of  mathe¬ 
matics,  or  of  language.  I  cannot  see  why  that  will  paralyze  or  make 
non-effective  the  teaching  of  language  or  other  branches  of  education, 
but  I  believe  it  will  stimulate  every  one,  and  give  the  student  a  true 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


105 


appreciation  of  its  real  value.  If  he  has  not  this  knowledge  of  Jesus 
Christ,  but  gets  the  training  without  it,  he  is  liable  to  become  puffed 
up,  and  many  times  he  loses  his  faith  in  God. 

True  education  does  not  consist  in  merely  the  amount  of  book 
knowledge  a  man  has.  A  man  is  useful  and  powerful  and  mighty 
to  the  accomplishment  of  results  in  proportion  as  he  believes  in  God. 
Strip  a  man  of  his  faith,  and  you  make  him  a  Samson  with  his  locks 
shorn.  You  paralyze  him. 

And  this  is  not  simply  our  view  alone.  I  remember  when  I  was 
in  China,  I  attended  a  reception.  We  were  having  some  speeches 
after  luncheon,  and  various  persons  were  speaking.  There  were 
some  visitors  in  our  meeting,  and  among  them  a  little  Scotchman  by 
the  name  of  Evans,  a  well-known  character  in  Shanghai.  He  has  been 
there  over  thirty  years,  and  keeps  a  boarding  house.  He  was  sent  as 
a  Baptist  missionary,  but  having  become  involved  in  speculation, 
he  gave  up  his  missionary  work.  So  he  said  he  would  entertain 
missionaries.  Among  others  this  man  made  a  speech,  and  he  said, 
not  in  words  but  in  substance:  — 

“I  want  to  give  you  people  some  advice.  You  are  new  in  China, 
you  do  not  have  very  large  experience.  I  have  been  here  for  more  than 
thirty-two  years,  and  know  practically  every  missionary  of  every 
denomination  in  this  country.  Now  if  I  were  to  give  you  advice  from 
my  heart,  I  would  say  to  you,  Never  send  over  to  China  a  college 
graduate.  Take  your  men  out  of  the  high  school.  My  experience 
is  that  as  soon  as  you  send  a  man  out  from  college,  he  is  practically 
good  for  nothing  as  a  missionary.  He  is  an  infidel.  He  does  not 
believe  the  Bible.  But  if  you  have  to  send  college  men  over  here, 
I  certainly  would  advise  you  not  to  send  any  university  men;  for  it 'is 
my  observation  that  a  man  cannot  be  found  in  China,  a  graduate  of  a 
university,  that  believes  in  the  inspiration  of  the  Word  of  God.  But 
of  all  the  universities  in  America  that  you  should  not  send  a  man 
from,  I  beg  of  you  to  send  none  from  the  university  of  Chicago.  I 
have  never  seen  a  preacher  that  was  ever  any  good  in  winning  souls 
to  Christ  or  who  believed  the  Word  of  God,  to  come  from  that  uni¬ 
versity.” 

That  man  was  telling  us  out  of  his  heart  what  he  believed  was  for 
our  best  good.  And  the  reason  he  described  the  university  graduates 
as  being  “no  good”  was  simply  because  they  did  not  believe  the 
Word  of  God.  He  said  they  had  all  kinds  of  ways  of  fixing  the  Bible 
up,  but  they  could  not  preach  it  to  the  Chinese  to  win  them  to  Christ. 

I  believe  that  our  educational  system  is  the  highest,  best,  and 
most  ideal  of  any  that  have  been  used  by  any  denomination  since 
the  days  of  the  early  church.  We  come  nearer  to  holding  to  the 


106 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Word  of  God  and  relying  less  upon  knowledge  and  scholarship;  we 
pay  more  attention  to  the  simplicity  of  the  truth  as  revealed  in  the 
Word  of  God  than  any  people  since  the  early  days  when  the  power  of 
the  gospel  was  so  mighty  in  breaking  down  heathen  objections  to  the 
Christian  religion. 

Really,  the  purpose  of  education  is  to  fit  men  lor  heaven.  I 
read  this  in  “Counsels  to  Teachers,”  page  96.  Here  we  have  a 
volume  of  splendid  advice  and  counsel,  and,  brethren,  I  entreat  you, 
now  that  the  voice  which  has  spoken  to  this  people  for  fifty  years 
is  practically  hushed,  not  to  depart  from  what  God  has  seen  fit  to 
give  us  through  the  spirit  of  prophecy.  There  will  come  to  you 
great  temptations  to  say  that  it  is  no  good,  it  might  have  been  for 
those  brethren  back  there,  but  we  have  advanced  beyond  it.  As 
educators,  let  us  hold  to  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  and  let  us  teach  our 
boys  and  girls  to  have  faith  in  it.  You  teachers  can  do  much  to  over¬ 
come  this  doubt  and  unbelief  on  the  spirit  of  prophecy.  You  can 
take  these  boys  and  girls  into  your  classrooms  and  tell  them,  “Once 
there  was  in  our  midst  a  voice  that  spoke  to  us,  and  when  we  deviated 
from  the  right,  we  were  told  of  our  wrong  and  were  set  right.  That 
voice  is  silent,  but  here  we  have  volumes  upon  volumes  written  to 
us,  showing  us  the  right  way;  and  if  a  teacher  believes  in  the  spirit 
of  prophecy,  and  will  talk  about  it  and  show  it  to  the  boys  and  girls, 
that  will  keep  and  strengthen  their  confidence  in  it.  But  oh,  friends, 
if  we  do  not  hold  to  this  instruction  that  God  has  given  us,  what  will 
become  of  us  as  a  people?  Our  name  will  go  out  in  oblivion,  and 
our  work'  will  utterly  fail  to  accomplish  the  purpose  of  God.  So, 
as  teachers,  I  entreat  you,  never  let  unbelief  come  into  your  heart 
concerning  what  God  has  given  to  his  church  and  his  people  at  this 
time  through  the  spirit  of  prophecy. 

Again  I  read:  “No  limit  can  be  set  to  our  influence.  One  thought¬ 
less  act  may  prove  the  ruin  of  many  souls.  The  course  of  every  worker 
in  our  college  is  making  impressions  upon  the  minds  of  the  young, 
and  these  are  borne  away  to  be  reproduced  in  others.” — Page  q6. 

Let  us  remember  that  when  a  boy  or  girl  receives  instruction  in 
the  classroom,  its  influence  doesn’t  end  there.  You  are  planting 
seeds  that  will  grow,  and  multipy,  and  will  keep  on  multiplying  in 
the  lives  of  others.  Only  God  can  tell  what  will  be  the  effect  of 
every  lesson  learned  in  that  classroom.  Every  time  you  stand  before 
your  class  you  are  there  as  God’s  messenger,  and  you  should  remember 
that  whatever  seed  you  plant  in  the  young  hearts  will  be  multiplied 
in  the  lives  of  others,  on  and  on  as  in  a  geometrical  progression. 
It  is  a  fearful  responsibility. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


107 


“It  should  be  the  teacher’s  aim  to  prepare  every  youth  under 
his  care  to  be  a  blessing  to  the  world.  This  object  should  never  be 
lost  sight  of.  There  are  some  who  profess  to  be  working  for  Christ., 
yet  who  occasionally  go  over  to  the  side  of  Satan  and  do  his  work. 
Can  the  Saviour  pronounce  these  good  and  faithful  servants?  Are 
they,  as  watchmen,  giving  the  trumpet  a  certain  sound?  .  .  . 

“There  is  a  great  work  to  be  done  in  our  college,  a  work  which 
demands  the  cooperation  of  every  teacher;  and  it  is  displeasing  to 
God  for  one  to  discourage  another.  But  nearly  all  seem  to  forget 
that  Satan  is  an  accuser  of  the  brethren,  and  they  unite  with  the 
enemy  in  his  work.  While  professed  Christians  are  contending, 
Satan  is  laying  his  snares  for  the  inexperienced  feet  of  children  and 
youth.  Those  who  have  had  a  religious  experience  should  seek  to 
shield  the  young  from  his  devices.  They  should  never  forget  that 
they  themselves  were  once  enchanted  with  the  pleasures  of  sin.  We 
need  the  mercy  and  forbearance  of  God  every  hour,  and  how  un¬ 
becoming  for  us  to  be  impatient  with  the  errors  of  the  inexperienced 
youth!  So  long  as  God  bears  with  them,  dare  we,  fellow  sinners, 
cast  them  off?  We  should  ever  look  upon  the  youth  as  the  purchase 
of  the  blood  of  Christ.” — Pages  96,  97. 

We  must  take  that  nervous  boy  who  needs  help,  who  needs  wise 
counsel,  as  well  as  the  good  boys.  We  must  take  that  mischievous 
girl  that  causes  so  much  anxiety  and  trouble,  and  do  our  best  to  train 
her  for  the  Master’s  service,  as  well  as  those  model  girls  who  cause 
no  perplexity.  God  loves  all.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  school  to  take 
them  and  fashion  them  into  the  similitude  of  Christ  Jesus.  That 
is  the  purpose  of  true  education.  It  is  not  simply  to  teach  grammar' 
rhetoric,  and  the  sciences.  Of  course  you  will  have  to  teach  those 
subjects,  but  the  great  thing  is  to  take  the  characters  of  these  chil¬ 
dren  and  train  them  for  eternity;  and  you  can  never  do  that  if  you 
feel  irritated  and  cross,  as  though  you  wanted  to  scold  and  punish. 

I  do  not  see  how  anybody  can  fashion  souls  in  the  right  way 
until  he  has  loved  them  as  Paul  said  he  loved  his  brethren,—  ready 
to  give  his  life  for  them.  That  has  a  wonderful  influence  upon  a  boy,— 
to  know  that  he  is  ugly  and  contrary,  and  yet  the  teacher  looks  into 
his  face  with  his  lips  quivering  and  his  heart  melted.  He  becomes 
conscious  that  his  teacher  loves  him  in  that  way.  There  are  very 
few  boys  who  can  resist  such  pleadings.  They  can  resist  floggings 
and  punishments  of  all  kinds;  but  when  a  teacher  takes  a  boy  and 
sits  down  with  him  in  that  way,  and  with  a  heart  full  of  love  says, 
“  John,  see  here,  this  thing  is  wrong;  you  ought  to  change,”  he  cannot 
resist.  There  are  very  few  boys  who  can  resist  such  a  fatherly  in¬ 
fluence,  such  a  Christian  atmosphere  as  that. 


108 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


“We  should  ever  look  upon  the  youth  as  the  purchase  of  the 
blood  of  Christ.  As  such  they  have  demands  upon  our  love,  our 
patience,  our  sympathy.  If  we  would  follow  Jesus,  we  cannot  re¬ 
strict  our  inteiest  and  affection  to  ourselves  and  our  own  families; 
we  cannot  give  our  time  and  attention  to  temporal  matters,  and 
forget  the  eternal  interests  of  those  around  us.  .  .  .  ‘Love  one  an¬ 
other,  as  I  have  loved  you,’  is  the  command  of  Jesus.  Look  at  his 
self-denial;  behold  the  manner  of  love  he  has  bestowed  upon  us;  and 
then  seek  to  imitate  the  Pattern.” — “ Counsels  to  Teachers,"  page  97. 

Paul  said,  as  he  wrote  that  letter  to  his  brethren  in  Rome,  “  I 
could  wish  that  myself  were  accursed  from  Christ  for  my  brethren.” 
That  is  love,  isn’t  it?  And  it  belongs  to  every  teacher.  It  is  yours, 
my  friends,  but  it  can  never  come  until  you  are  in  close  touch  with 
God  and  know  how  he  values  souls. 

Here  are  some  statements  from  other  men  in  regard  to  education. 
We  may  say  that  the  world  does  not  look  at  education  as  we  do;  but 
I  have  jotted  down  a  few  statements,  and  I  want  you  to  see  how  much 
in  harmony  they  are  with  the  ideals  that  we  hold,  as  far  as  character 
building  is  concerned.  They  do  not  use  the  means  that  we  do;  they 
leave  out  God  and  Christ  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  They  try  to  accom¬ 
plish  by  education  and  training  what  we  undertake  to  do  by  the 
influences  and  agencies  from  heaven,  plus  the  education  that  we  give. 

Spencer  says:  “How  to  live?  —  that  is  the  essential  question  for 
us.  Not  how  to  live  in  the  mere  material  sense  only,  but  in  the 
widest  sense.  The  general  problem  which  comprehends  every  social 
problem  is  —  the  right  ruling  of  conduct  in  all  directions,  under  all 
circumstances.  In  what  way  to  treat  the  body;  ...  in  what  way  to 
bring  up  a  family;  in  what  way  to  behave  as  a  citizen;  in  what  way 
to  utilize  all  these  resources  of  happiness  which  nature  supplies  — 
how  to  use  all  our  faculties  to  the  greatest  advantage  of  ourselves  and 
others;  how  to  live  completely?  And  this,  being  the  great  thing  need¬ 
ful  for  us  to  learn,  is,  by  consequence,  the  great  thing  which  education 
has  to  teach.  To  prepare  us  for  complete  living  is  the  function 
which  education  has  to  discharge;  and  the  only  rational  mode  of 
judging  of  any  educational  course  is  to  judge  in  what  degree  it  dis¬ 
charges  this  function.” 

That  is  true  education, —  to  teach  a  man  how  to  live.  Of  course 
Spencer  did  not  mention  calling  on  God  and  giving  a  man  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ  and  his  Word,  but  he  did  believe  that  education  ought 
to  teach  a  man  how  to  live.  Again  he  says:  — 

“Of  course  the  ideal  of  education  is  complete  preparation  in  all 
these  divisions.  But  failing  this  ideal,  as  in  our  phase  of  civilization 
every  one  must  do  more  or  less,  the  aim  should  be  to  maintain  a  due 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


109 


proportion  between  the  degrees  of  preparation  in  each.  Not  exhaus¬ 
tive  cultivation  in  any  one,  supremely  important  though  it  may  be; 
not  even  exclusive  attention  to  the  two,  three,  or  four  divisions  of 
greatest  importance;  but  an  attention  to  all, —  greatest  where  the 
value  is  greatest,  less  where  the  value  is  less,  and  least  where  the  value 
is  least.” 

Stein  says:  “Education  is  the  harmonious  and  equable  evolution 
of  the  human  faculties  by  a  method  based  upon  the  nature  of  the  mind 
for  developing  all  the  faculties  of  the  soul,  for  stirring  up  and  nourish¬ 
ing  all  the  principles  of  life,  while  shunning  all  one-sided  culture  and 
taking  account  of  the  sentiments  upon  which  the  strength  and  worth 
of  men  depend.” 

Pestalozzi  writes:  “Sound  education  stands  before  me  symbolized 
by  a  tree  planted  near  fertilizing  waters.  A  little  seed  which  contains 
the  design  of  the  tree,  its  form  and  its  properties,  is  placed  in  the 
soil.  The  whole  tree  is  an  uninterrupted  chain  of  organic  parts,  the 
plan  of  which  existed  in  its  seed  and  root.  Man  is  similar  to  the  tree. 
In  the  newborn  child  are  hidden  those  faculties  which  are  to  unfold 
during  life.  The  individual  and  separate  organs  of  his  being  form 
themselves  gradually  into  unison,  and  build  up  humanity  in  the  image 
of  God.  The  education  of  man  is  purely  a  moral  result.” 

It  is  not  the  degrees  that  a  man  obtains,  but  it  is  the  moral  result. 
“It  is  not  the  educator  who  puts  new  faculties  into  man  and  im¬ 
parts  to  him  breath  and  life.  He  only  takes  care  that  no  untoward 
influence  should  disturb  nature’s  march  of  development.  The  moral, 
intellectual,  and  practical  powers  of  man  must  be  nourished  within 
himself,  and  not  from  artificial  substitutes.” 

Froebel  says,  “Education  consists  in  leading  man,  as  a  thinking, 
intelligent  being,  growing  into  self-consciousness,  to  a  pure  and  un¬ 
sullied  conscious  and  free  presentation  of  the  inner  law  of  divine 
unity,  and  in  teaching  him  ways  and  means  thereto.” 

All  these  are  definitions  that  you  and  I  believe  in.  But  they  leave 
out  the  means  of  accomplishing  the  aim. 

Huxley  says:  “That  man,  I  think,  has  a  liberal  education  who 
has  been  so  trained  in  youth  that  his  body  is  the  ready  servant  of 
his  will,  and  does  with  ease  and  pleasure  all  the  work  that  as  a  mech¬ 
anism  it  is  capable  of;  whose  intellect  is  a  clear,  cold,  logic  engine, 
with  all  its  parts  of  equal  strength  and  in  smooth  working  order; 
ready,  like  a  steam  engine,  to  be  turned  to  any  kind  of  work  and  spin 
the  gossamers  as  well  as  forge  the  anchors  of  the  mind;  whose  mind 
is  stored  with  a  knowledge  of  the  great  and  fundamental  truths  of 
nature  and  of  the  laws  of  her  operation;  one  who,  no  stunted  ascetic, 
is  full  of  life  and  fire,  but  whose  passions  are  trained  to  come  to  heel 
by  a  vigorous  wiH,  the  servant  of  a  tender  conscience;  who  has  learned 


110 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


to  love  all  beauty,  whether  of  nature  or  of  art,  to  hate  all  vileness, 
and  to  respect  others  as  himself.  Such  a  one,  and  no  other,  I  conceive 
to  have  a  liberal  education;  for  he  is,  as  completely  as  a  man  can  be, 
in  harmony  with  nature.” 

Another  statement  on  the  same  line:  William  James  says,  “Edu¬ 
cation  cannot  be  better  described  than  by  calling  it  the  organization 
of  acquired  habits  of  conduct  and  tendencies  to  behavior.” 

“Nicholas  Murray  Butler  defines  education  as  the  gradual  ad¬ 
justment  of  the  individual  to  the  spiritual  possessions,  of  the  race. 
‘  These  possessions  may  be  variously  classified,  but  they  are  certainly 
at  least  fivefold.  The  child  is  entitled  to  his  scientific  inheritance,  to 
his  literary  inheritance,  to  his  asthetic  inheritance,  to  his  institutional 
inheritance,  and  to  his  religious  inheritance.’  ” 

Dr.  Butler  would  also  add  the  industrial  inheritance. 

I  think  these  definitions  agree  with  us  in  the  ideal  of  perfecting  a 
human  being,  complete  in  all  its  details,  trained  in  every  possible  way, 
physical,  mental,  and  spiritual,  so  that  he  will  approximate  as  near 
the  divine  as  it  is  possible  for  man  to  be. 

But  these  men  leave  out  Christ;  they  would  attain  this  perfection 
through  education  alone.  We  know  that  it  can  never  be  obtained 
in  that  way.  It  must  come  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  So  our  schools 
are  separate  from  the  schools  of  the  world.  They  try  to  make  a  man 
perfect  by  training,  and  we  try  to  attain  perfection  by  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ.  I  know  that  we  have  the  right  way,  because  we  have  God 
on  our  side;  and  if  these  men  have  a  true  sense  of  education,  we  have 
a  truer  means  of  attaining  it,  and  that  is  to  have  faith  in  the  Son  of 
God  as  the  Saviour  of  sinners. 

Brethren,  there  never  was  such  an  opportunity  to  win  souls  to 
Christ  as  is  now  offered  to  you  as  teachers.  It  seems  to  me  that  if  I 
could  have  a  congregation  come  to  me  from  two  to  five  hours  a  day 
every  day  for  nine  months  in  succession,  it  would  be  possible  for  me 
almost  to  compel  them  to  come  to  Christ.  The  very  idea  of  having 
people  there  so  many  hours  a  day,  for  so  many  months,  absolutely 
under  your  direction,  with  all  respect  for  your  authority,  with  every 
opportunity  to  speak  to  them  publicly  or  privately  —  there  never 
was  an  opportunity  given  to  men  such  as  our  teachers  have.  Our 
ministers  do  not  have  it.  The  people  go  right  out  into  business  and 
have  many  cares.  Here  these  lads  are  right  under  your  training, 
under  your  influence,  under  your  instruction;  and  they  love  you, 
they  fear  you,  they  respect  you.  Brethren,  I  believe  before  God  it 
is  your  duty  to  bring  them  to  Christ.  You  should  never  feel  that  your 
work  is  done  until  every  boy  and  girl  who  comes  into  the  schoolroom 
has  found  salvation  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 


MANUMENTAL  EDUCATION 


C.  C.  LEWIS 

In  order  to  narrow  our  subject,  let  it  be  remarked  that  we  are  here 
to  discuss  this  question,  as  well  as  all  others,  in  the  light  of  their  re¬ 
lation  to  the  system  of  schools  and  education  as  developed  and  prac¬ 
ticed  among  Seventh-day  Adventists. 

Let  me,  before  taking  up  more  specific  questions,  refer  briefly  to 
one  general  principle  because  of  its  important  bearing  upon  all  ques¬ 
tions  pertaining  to  the  subject.  I  refer  to  the  educative  value  of 
manual  training.  “Education,”  says  Pestalozzi,  “is  the  generation 
of  power.”  But  what  kind  of  power?  —  not  simply  to  think  ab¬ 
stractly,  to  reason,  to  speculate,  to  philosophize,  to  moralize,  though 
such  power  is  indeed  valuable;  but  the  power  to  act  as  well  as  to 
think,  to  do  something  useful  for  mankind.  This  power  manual 
training  cultivates.  It  tends  to  make  boys  and  girls  practical.  Know¬ 
ing  how  to  do  and  make  things,  they  are  self-reliant.  In  an  emer¬ 
gency,  they  are  able  to  find  a  way  or  make  one.  Carlyle  says  that 
man  without  tools  is  nothing;  with  tools,  all. 

But  again,  let  us  look  at  this  matter  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
functions  of  the  brain  and  the  effect  of  manual  training  upon  those 
functions.  The  brain  may  be  regarded  as  having  three  chief  func¬ 
tions,—  the  power  to  absorb,  or  take  in  materials;  the  power  to  as¬ 
similate  these  materials  and  make  of  them  something  useful;  and  the 
power  to  give  out,  or  bring  to  the  aid  of  mankind,  the  things  thus 
created.  Now,  mental  force  and  character  are  accurately  measured 
by  the  power  of  expression,  by  what  comes  out  of  the  mind.  Merely 
to  absorb  materials  is  to  make  of  man  a  “bookful  blockhead,  igno¬ 
rantly  read,  with  loads  of  learned  lumber  in  his  head.”  Hence,  true 
education  will  aim  to  give  symmetrical  development  to  each  of  these 
powers  of  the  brain.  The  healthy  education  of  the  child  should  pro¬ 
vide  for  giving  him  expressing  power  coextensive  with  the  power  of 
absorption  and  assimilation.  But  on  the  expressing  side,  the  prac¬ 
tical  side,  provision  has  been  limited  to  the  use  of  the  tongue  in  speech 
and  to  the  hand  in  writing.  And  the  application  of  these  uses  has  been 
made  largely  to  commercial  and  financial  employments  and  the 
professions,  and  only  incidentally  to  the  industrial  and  mechanical 
occupations.  With  such  an  inadequate  and  one-sided  brain  equip¬ 
ment  it  is  not  possible  in  any  broad,  practical  way  to  bring  thought 
or  brain  power  to  the  service  of  industry.  The  remedy  consists  in 
adding  the  manual  and  industrial  arts  to  the  expressing  side  of  our 
curricula  (even  if  necessary  to  subtract  from  the  absorbing  side). 

Ill 


112 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


And  it  may  be  noted,  as  an  encouragement  to  do  so,  that  the  use  of 
the  expressing  powers  of  the  brain  greatly  stimulates  the  powers  of 
absorption  and  creation.  When  the  hand  has  something  to  do  or 
make,  the  mind  studies  to  know  how  the  task  may  be  performed  and 
what  materials  and  means  must  be  employed.  Thus  perception  is 
quickened  and  reason  is  strengthened.  So  the  question  resolves  itself 
into  this  form:  Shall  we  use  our  means,  and  bend  our  energies  solely 
to  train  the  absorbing  powers  of  our  children  and  young  people? 
And  shall  we  train  their  powers  of  expression  in  the  direction  of  fur¬ 
ther  crowding  the  ranks  of  commercial  and  professional  life?  And 
shall  we  not  use  our  means  and  bend  our  energies  to  train  those  other 
powers  of  expression  which  will  enable  our  sons  and  our  daughters  to 
do  honest,  skillful,  and  intelligent  work  in  the  shop,  in  the  field,  and 
in  the  home?  There  can  be  but  one  just  answer  to  this  question, 
whatever  may  be  our  practice. 

Now,  what  have  Seventh-day  Adventists  done  in  the  matter  of 
incorporating  manual  training  into  their  educational  system?  And 
what  more  ought  they  to  do  and  can  they  do? 

First,  it  may  be  justly  said  that  Seventh-day  Adventists  were  pio¬ 
neers  in  industrial  education, —  at  least  in  the  matter  of  advocating 
it.  Thirty-five  years  ago  manual  training  was  almost  unknown  in 
the  schools  of  this  country.  Colonel  Parker  speaks  of  Charles  H. 
Ham  as  a  leading  pioneer  in  the  movement.  Mr.  Ham  began  his 
work  in  1879  by  reading  a  paper  before  the  Chicago  Philosophical 
Society  on  “The  Inventive  Genius:  or  an  Epitome  of  Human  Prog¬ 
ress.”  His  study  in  the  preparation  of  this  paper  gave  a  new  direc¬ 
tion  to  all  his  thoughts.  The  following  year  his  attention  was  called 
to  the  Manual  Training  Department  of  the  Washington  University, 
St.  Louis,  Mo.  Here  he  found  what  he  regarded  as  the  realization 
of  Bacon’s  aphorism,  “Education  is  the  cultivation  of  a  just  and  legit¬ 
imate  familiarity  between  the  mind  and  things.”  He  made  an  ex¬ 
haustive  study  of  the  methods  of  this  school,  and  reached  the  con¬ 
clusion  that  the  philosopher’s  stone  in  education  had  been  discovered. 
The  columns  of  the  Chicago  Tribune  were  opened  to  him,  and  he  wrote 
constantly  on  the  subject  during  the  next  three  years.  As  a  result 
largely  of  his  work  the  Chicago  Manual  Training  School,  now  a  de¬ 
partment  of  the  Chicago  University,  was  opened  in  1884.  In  1886 
he  published  a  book  entitled  “Manual  Training  the  Solution  of  Social 
and  Industrial  Problems,”  which  passed  through  three  editions,  and 
has  had  a  powerful  influence  in  molding  the  opinions  of  educators  in 
favor  of  manual  training. 

|With  this  beginning  the  work  has  extended  until  there  are  now  in 
the  United  States  153  schools  devoted  chiefly  to  manual  and  indus- 


COUNCIL  PKOCEEDINGS 


113 


trial  training.  Besides  these  there  are  over  700  cities  with  a  popula¬ 
tion  of  4,000  or  more,  in  whose  public  schools  manual  training  is 
maintained. 

This,  in  brief,  is  the  story  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  industrial 
education  in  this  country.  But  six  years  before  Charles  H.  Ham 
read  his  famous  paper  which  marked  the  beginning  of  this  movement, 
the  Lord  had  spoken  with  the  utmost  clearness  to  this  denomination 
concerning  these  principles.  Thirty  pages  of  Testimony  No.  22,  first 
published  in  1873,  are  devoted  to  proper  education  and  physical 
labor  for  students. 

In  Battle  Creek  College  (the  character  of  which  was  doubtless  in¬ 
tended  to  be  affected  by  this  instruction,  since  it  was  published  the 
year  before  the  founding  of  that  institution)  some  efforts  were  made 
a  few  years  later  to  carry  out  these  principles.  The  man  is  still  liv¬ 
ing,  Brother  Benjamin  H.  Welch,  of  Takoma  Park,  who  had  charge 
of  the  first  printing  department  connected  with  a  school  among 
Seventh-day  Adventists;  and  the  teacher  is  before  you  who  spent  some 
time  each  afternoon  in  the  printing  department  to  encourage  the  effort 
by  his  presence. 

A  carpentry  department  was  also  opened,  of  which  we  are  oc¬ 
casionally  reminded  by  those  little  red  first-day  offering  boxes  which 
some  of  us  will  remember  were  made  by  the  students  to  be  distrib¬ 
uted  throughout  the  denomination. 

We  shall  not  follow  the  ups  and  downs  of  the  movement,  but 
shall  state  that  at  the  present  time  the  seventy  colleges  and  academies 
of  the  denomination  have  8,880  acres  of  land  for  agricultural  purposes, 
and  fifty-one  of  them  have  manual  training  facilities,  leaving  only 
nineteen  that  are  wholly  without  such  facilities. 

On  the  whole,  while  we  have  reason  to  be  thankful  that  some 
progress  has  been  made  in  manual  training  lines  in  our  denominational 
schools,  still  we  have  greater  reason  to  feel  humble  that  the  secular 
schools  have  made  so  much  greater  progress  in  the  field  in  which  we 
were  pioneers.  This  fact  should  stimulate  us  to  greater  effort  to  build 
up  this  most  important  department  of  our  educational  work. 

And  this  consideration  leads  us  to  the  practical  question,  What 
can  we  do  to  improve  and  extend  manual  training  in  our  educational 
system?  The  General  Conference  Department  of  Education,  with 
all  the  counsel  and  help  it  can  secure  from  whatever  source,  should 
immediately  begin  the  preparation  of  a  course  of  manual  and  industrial 
training  for  all  our  schools  from  the  primary  grades  to  the  college. 
This  course  should  consist  not  simply  of  a  bare  outline  of  what  should 
be  done  year  by  year,  but  it  should  present  detailed  instruction  in  the 
best  methods  of  carrying  out  the  plans.  It  should  give  "a  general 
8 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


114 

elementary  graded  course  for  primary  schools,  and  more  advanced 
work  merging  into  trades  for  the  secondary  schools  and  colleges.  All 
fads  and  fancy  work  should  be  eliminated.  The  fundamental  occu¬ 
pations  necessary  to  make  good  homes  should  be  ever  kept  in  mind. 
The  needs  of  the  great  army  of  missionaries  who  go  to  foreign  lands 
should  be  provided  for;  and  the  needs  of  that  ever  greater  army  that 
must  stay  at  home  and  furnish  the  sinews  of  war,  must  not  be  forgotten. 
The  domestic  arts  should  be  emphasized  so  as  to  teach  our  young 
women  the  things  that  wives  and  mothers  ought  to  know,  whether 
in  a  home  or  in  a  foreign  field.  The  building  trades  should  be  encour¬ 
aged,  that  our  missionaries  may  know  how  to  provide  houses  for  their 
missionary  operations.  Above  all,  agricultural  pursuits  should  be 
kept  in  the  forefront;  for  it  is  not  without  reason  that  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  has  said  that  instruction  in  agricultural  lines  should  be  the 
A  B  C  of  our  educational  work.  Our  missionaries  need  it  to  furnish 
their  tables  with  good,  wholesome,  nourishing  food,  by  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  natural  products  of  the  various  countries  where  they  may 
be  called  to  labor. 

We  especially  need  more  and  better  teachers  of  agricultural  sub¬ 
jects.  Good  farmers  are  not  necessarily  good  teachers  of  farming, 
neither  are  good  teachers  of  farming  necessarily  good  farmers.  We 
need  the  happy  combination  of  the  two  elements  —  the  art  and  the 
science  of  farming,  together  with  the  gift  of  teaching  this  most  inter¬ 
esting  and  most  important  of  all  industrial  subjects  in  such  a  way 
as  to  hold  our  young  men  to  the  intelligent  culture  of  the  soil,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  elevate  them  intellectually  and  spiritually  above 
the  sordid  condition  of  many  who  delve  in  the  earth. 

This  is  our  great  need  —  thoroughly  trained  teachers  of  the  in¬ 
dustries.  We  have  plenty  of  candidates  for  ordinary  scholastic  stud¬ 
ies.  We  spend  months  and  years  in  post-graduate  work  in  mathe¬ 
matics,  science,  literature,  language,  and  what  not.  But  who  exert 
themselves  to  obtain  special  instruction  in  the  best  methods  of  teach¬ 
ing  sewing,  cooking,  or  gardening?  —  A  few,  but  an  increasing  few, 
I  am  thankful  to  say. 

How  long  shall  we  be  content  to  let  this  reproach  rest  upon  us 
as  teachers  —  that  we  are  indifferent  to  that  which  God  has  declared 
to  be  of  first  importance?  Shall  we  not  rather  rise  to  the  demands 
of  the  hour?  Will  not  every  Seventh-day  Adventist  teacher  resolve 
that  he  will  fit  himself  to  teach  well  at  least  one  industrial  subject? 
Colonel  Parker  once  declared  that  “the  future  of  manual  training  is 
to  introduce  hand  work  as  the  principal  factor  of  the  first  four  years 
of  work,  to  be  continued  in  the  four  years  of  the  grammar  grades, 
and  correlated  with  all  other  subjects.  Indeed,  the  ideal  is  to  intro- 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


115 


duce  manual  training  in  all  courses  of  study,  from  the  kindergarten 
to  the  university.”  Let  a  similar  ideal  be  the  ideal  of  every  Seventh- 
day  Adventist  teacher.  Let  our  teachers,  if  necessary,  go  to  secular 
schools  and  secular  books  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  industrial  prin¬ 
ciples  and  methods;  but  let  them  come  back  to  the  special  instruction 
the  Lord  has  given  us,  to  learn  how  to  adapt  these  principles  and  meth¬ 
ods  to  the  purposes  of  the  third  angel’s  message.  And  let  us  not 
rest  until  Christian  industrial  training  is  extended  to  the  work  of  every 
grade  from  the  church  school  to  the  college. 

“But  how  can  it  be  done?”  says  one.  I  have  not  time  to  attempt 
an  answer,  except  to  say  that  what  ought  to  be  done  can  be  done. 
If  we  believe  it  ought  to  be  done,  we  shall  find  a  way  to  do  it.  About 
a  dozen  years  ago  I  was  preparing  a  paper  upon  a  similar  subject  for 
a  secular  teachers’  association.  I  had  shown  the  importance  of  in¬ 
troducing  manual  training  into  the  public  schools,  and  I  was  facing 
the  same  question,  “ How  can  it  be  done?”  Rising,  I  paced  back 
and  forth  across  the  floor,  arms  behind  me,  head  down,  and  occa¬ 
sionally  repeating  the  question,  “How  can  it  be  done?”  when  my 
little  boy,  whom  I  had  not  before  noticed,  startled  me,  and  at  the  same 
time  electrified  me,  by  crying  out  vigorously,  “Why,  get  down  and 
do  it!  That’s  how!” 

So.  today,  if  we  believe  this  thing  is  right  and  ought  to  be  done, 
et  us  put  aside  our  doubtful  questioning,  and  get  down  and  do  it. 


THE  NEXT  STEP  IN  TEXTBOOK  MAKING 


M.  E.  CADY 

In  taking  up  this  topic  assigned  me,  I  am  aware  that  there  is 
quite  a  difference  of  opinion  among  our  educators  regarding  the 
preparation  of  educational  literature. 

But  let  us  consider  briefly  the  testimony  of  the  spirit  of  prophecy 
on  this  subject,  as  recorded  in  the  Bible,  as  well  as  the  instruction  that 
has  come  to  us  concerning  our  educational  work.  In  those  pattern 
schools, —  the  schools  of  the  prophets, —  fourteen  of  the  textbooks 
used  in  sacred  history  were  written  by  Hebrew  authors.  In  the  study 
of  sacred  literature,  five  of  the  poetical  books  were  written  by  Hebrew 
writers.  One  of  these  writers,  speaking  of  his  literary  effort,  says 
that  he  “gave  good  heed,  and  sought  out,  and  set  in  order  many 
proverbs,”  and  that  he  “sought  to  find  out  acceptable  words:  and 
that  which  was  written  was  upright,  even  words  of  truth.” 

Thirty-six  men,  three  from  each  of  the  tribes  of  Israel,  were  chosen 
by  Joshua  to  go  through  the  land  of  Palestine  and  describe  it,  and 


116  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 

write  a  geography  of  the  country.  “The  men  went  and  passed 
through  the  land,  and  described  it  by  cities  into  seven  parts  in  a 
book.”  Joshua  18:9.  A  book  was  also  written  on  the  principles  of 
civil  government,  which  were  to  be  the  guide  in  the  kingdom  of  Israel 
under  a  king:  “Samuel  told  the  people  the  manner  of  the  kingdom, 
and  wrote  it  in  a  book,  and  laid  it  up  before  the  Lord.”  1  Sam. 
10:  25.  These  citations  of  Scripture  indicate  that  Israel  provided 
her  schools  with  educational  literature  along  several  lines. 

The  Bible  is  not  to  be  tested  by  men’s  ideas  of  science,  but  science 
is  to  be  brought  to  the  test  of  the  unerring  standard.  Yet  the  study 
of  the  sciences  is  not  to  be  neglected.  Books  must  be  used  for  this 
purpose;  but  they  should  be  in  harmony  with  the  Bible,  for  that  is 
the  standard.  Books  of  this  character  should  take  the  place  of  many 
of  those  now  in  the  hands  of  the  students.” — “  Counsels  to  Teachers ,” 
pages  425 ,  426. 

“Books  should  have  been  prepared  to  place  in  the  hands  of  the 
students  that  would  educate  them  to  have  a  sincere,  reverent  love  for 
truth  and  steadfast  integrity.  The  class  of  studies  which  are  posi¬ 
tively  essential  in  the  formation  of  character  to  give  them  a  prepara¬ 
tion  for  the  future  life,  should  be  ever  kept  before  them.” — “  Special 
Testimonies  on  Education ,  ”  page  230. 

It  is  a  matter  of  encouragement  to  know  that  something  has  been 
done  toward  carrying  out  the  above  instruction.  For  our  church 
school  grades  the  following  books  have  been  prepared:  — 

A  series  of  four  Bible  Lesson  books  for  grades  4  to  7. 

A  series  of  seven  Readers  for  grades  1  to  8. 

A  series  of  four  Nature  books  for  grades  4  to  6. 

Four  Supplementary  Readers  used  in  grades  1  to  3. 

Several  bulletins,  manuals,  and  helps  for  teachers  on  different 
subjects. 

In  the  academic  grades  we  have:  — 

A  series  of  four  Language  books  for  grades  9  to  12. 

A  text,  “Essentials  of  English,”  for  grade  9. 

A  New  Testament  History  for  grade  9. 

We  have  attempted  nothing  for  use  in  the  college  grades. 

How  many  steps  have  we  taken  in  the  preparation  of  textbooks 
for  our  schools?  Are  there  other  steps  still  to  be  taken?  It  is  true 
that  we  have  thought  of  taking  further  steps;  we  have  voted  the  prep¬ 
aration  of  a  geography,  a  physiology,  a  United  States  history,  and 
a  civil  government  for  use  in  our  church  schools,  and  a  physiography, 
general  history,  and  geology  for  use  in  the  academic  grades. 

There  are  at  least  four  reasons  for  the  delay  in  preparing  manu¬ 
scripts  on  these  subjects:  — 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


117 


1.  T  he  persons  asked  to  write  them  have  been  so  pressed  with 
regular  duties  that  they  have  not*had  time  to  do  it. 

2.  Some  of  our  educators  have  felt  that  other  textbooks  written 
on  these  subjects  were  good  enough. 

3.  Some  have  felt  that  the  expense  involved  in  publication  was 
too  great  to  justify  the  effort. 

4.  .Some  have  thought  that  time  was  too  short  to  warrant  our 
undertaking  the  work  of  publishing  textbooks  for  use  in  our  schools. 

But  is  it  true  that  we  cannot  afford  the  expense?  Is  it  true  that 
other  books  can  be  found  that  are  good  enough?  Is  it  true  that  time 
is  too  short  to  change  our  intellectual  diet?  We  are  urged  to  make 
continual  progress  in  changing  our  physical  diet,  that  we  may  be  ready 
for  translation  when  Christ  comes;  may  we  not  change  our  intellec¬ 
tual  diet  also?  It  is  true  that  we  have  made  some  changes  in  the 
intellectual  bill  of  fare.  We  have  banished  the  “alcohol”  and  the 
“tobacco,”  and  it  may  be  even  the  “tea”  and  the  “coffee,”  but  are 
the  “flesh  foods”  and  the  “condiments”  still  served  at  the  intellectual 
meal?  Should  we  stop  anything  short  of  having  pure,  unadulterated 
food  served  to  our  children  and  youth  as  they  daily  gather  to  partake 
of  the  intellectual  spread?  Should  not  greater  care  be  exercised  in 
providing  intellectual  and  spiritual  food  than  in  the  provision  made  to 
supply  the  physical  needs? 

The  following  words  of  caution  and  warning  have  recently  been 
spoken  to  us  as  teachers:  — 

“  I  am  given  words  of  caution  for  the  teachers  in  our  schools.  The 
work  of  our  schools  should  bear  a  different  stamp  from  that  borne 
by  some  of  the  most  popular  of  our  institutions  of  learning.  Many 
of  the  textbooks  used  in  the  schools  are  unnecessary  for  the  work  of 
preparing  students  for  the  school  above.  .  .  . 

“There  is  need  of  separating  from  our  educational  work  an  erro¬ 
neous,  polluted  literature,  so  that  ideas  which  are  the  seeds  of  sin  will 
not  be  received  and  cherished  as  the  truth.  Let  not  any  suppose  that 
a  study  of  books  which  will  lead  to  the  reception  of  false  ideas,  is  val¬ 
uable  education.  Those  ideas  which,  gaining  entrance  to  the  mind, 
separate  the  youth  from  the  Source  of  all  wisdom,  all  efficiency,  all 
power,  leave  them  the  sport  of  Satan’s  temptations.  A  pure  educa¬ 
tion  for  the  youth  in  our  schools,  unmixed  with  heathen  philosophy, 
is  a  positive  necessity. 

“We  need  to  guard  continually  against  those  books  which  contain 
sophistry  in  regard  to  geology  and  other  branches  of  science.  Before 
the  theories  of  men  of  science  are  presented  to  immature  students, 
they  need  to  be  carefully  sifted  from  every  trace  of  infidel  suggestions. 
One  tiny  seed  of  infidelity  sown  by  a  teacher  in  the  heart  of  a  student 


118 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


may  spring  up  and  bring  forth  a  harvest  of  unbelief.  .  .  .  It  is  a  mis¬ 
take  to  put  into  the  hands  of  the  youth  books  that  perplex  and 
confuse  them.” — “ Counsels  to  Teachers,"  pages  389,  390. 

The  importance  of  providing  appropriate  educational  litera¬ 
ture  for  our  schools  is  indicated  by  the  following  impressive  represen¬ 
tation  published  in  1899:  — 

“In  a  night  vision  given  me  some  years  ago,  I  was  in  an  assembly 
where  our  school  problems  were  being  discussed,  and  the  question 
was  asked,  ‘Why  has  not  appropriate  matter  for  reading  books  and 
other  lesson  books  been  selected  and  compiled?  Why  has  not  the 
Word  of  God  been  extolled  above  every  human  production?  Have 
you  thought  that  a  better  knowledge  of  what  the  Lord  hath  said 
would  have  a  deleterious  effect  on  teachers  and  students?  ’ 

‘‘There  was  a  hush  in  the  assembly,  and  conviction  came  to  stu¬ 
dents  and  teachers.  Men  who  had  looked  upon  themselves  as  wise 
and  strong,  saw  that  they  were  weak,  and  lacking  in  the  knowledge 
of  that  Book  which* concerns  the  eternal  destiny  of  the  human  soul. 

‘‘The  speaker  then  took  from  the  hands  of  the  teachers  books 
which  they  had  been  making  their  study,  some  of  which  had  been  writ¬ 
ten  by  infidel  authors  and  contained  infidel  sentiments,  and  laid  them 
on  the  floor.  Then  he  placed  the  Bible  in  their  hands,  saying,  ‘You 
have  little  knowledge  of  this  book.  You  know  not  the  Scriptures 
nor  the  power  of  God.  When  you  have  taken  your  students  through 
the  course  of  study  you  have  followed  in  the  past,  they  will  have  to 
unlearn  much  that  they  have  learned,  and  this  they  will  find  very 
difficult  to  do.  Objectionable  ideas  have  taken  root  in  their  minds, 
like  weeds  in  a  garden,  and  some  will  never  be  able  to  distinguish 
between  right  and  wrong.  The  good  and  the  evil  have  been  inter¬ 
mingled  in  your  work.  Doctrines  containing  a  little  truth,  but  with 
which  are  woven  the  opinions  and  sayings  and  doings  of  men,  are 
repeated.  The  youth  will  never  know  the  way  of  life  so  long  as 
they  depend  on  such  instructions.” — 11  Counsels  to  Teachers,"  pages 
458,459-' 

In  this  latest  word  received  through  the  prophetic  gift  the  ques¬ 
tion  is  asked,  “Why  has  not  appropriate  matter  for  reading  books 
and  other  lesson  books,  been  selected  and  compiled?”  Observe  that 
these  books  are  not  to  consist  of  original  material,  but  matter  that 
has  been  selected  and  compiled.  I  believe  that  the  books  prepared 
for  our  schools  will  consist  largely  of  truths  gathered  and  gleaned 
from  those  whose  pens  have  been  dipped  in  the  fountain  of  truth. 
Some  of  these  truths  have  been  lost  sight  of,  some  of  them  have  been 
perverted  and  mingled  with  error  by  the  enemy  of  truth.  But  the 
work  of  the  Christian  educator  is  to  teach  truth,  and  the  books  used 
should  contain  the  truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


11!) 


"The  instruction  given  in  our  schools  should  differ  materially 
from  the  instruction  given  in  any  other  school  in  the  land.  The 
truth  of  God  is  to  give  shape  to  each  distinct  branch  of  education. 
The  work  of  every  teacher  should  be  to  fasten  the  minds  of  the  stu¬ 
dents  upon  the  grand  truths  of  the  Word  of  inspiration.” — " Church 
School  Manual^  pages  240,  241. 

In  view  of  this  instruction,  and  in  view  of  the  steps  already  taken 
in  preparing  educational  literature,  what  shall  be  the  next  step  in 
textbook  making? 

1.  Let  the  next  step  be  forward  march  on  the  double-quick;  for 
the  time  is  short.  But  there  is  time  enough  left  to  develop  this  edu¬ 
cational  work  according  to  God’s  plan  God’s  plan  carried  out  will 
accomplish  the  most  in  the  shortest  time.  Let  the  books  that  have 
been  voted,  now  be  quickly  prepared  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  our 
children.  Let  other  books  be  provided  for  the  church  school  grades, 
until  every  textbook  used  works  with  the  teacher,  not  against  him,  in 
imparting  a  Christian  education.  The  textbooks  as  well  as  the 
teacher  should  be  Christian,  if  Christian  education  is  to  be  the  result . 

2.  Let  steps  be  taken  at  once  to  provide  textbooks  for  the  aca¬ 
demic  grades.  But,  says  one,  have  we  ability  to  produce  books  for 
academic  grades? 

The  word  to  us  is,  "select”  and  "compile”  matter,  and  from  this 
develop  textbooks  on  various  subjects.  It  is  surprising  what  a  large 
amount  of  material  is  available  if  we  search  the  writings  of  men  who 
have  written  works  on  science,  history,  literature,  etc.,  from  the  Bible 
viewpoint.  I  have  taken  some  pains  to  look  up  the  works  of  emi¬ 
nent  scientists  who  have  written  excellent  matter  that  can  be  selected 
and  compiled  in  the  making  of  science  textbooks,  and  I  would  name 
the  following:  The  writings  of  Newton,  Kepler,  Galileo,  Boyle,  and 
Pascal,  the  Bridgewater  treatises  of  eleven  volumes  on  the  power, 
wisdom,  and  goodness  of  God  as  manifested  in  the  creation,  treating 
specifically  physiology,  biology,  geology,  mineralogy,  chemistry, 
meteorology,  physics,  and  astronomy.  A  number  of  these  writers 
have  been  professors  in  Cambridge  and  Oxford  Universities. 

I  give  only  the  titles  of  later  works  written  by  acknowledged 
scholars:  "Astronomical  Principles  of  Religion,”  1725;  "History  of 
the  Heavens,  considered  according  to  the  notions  of  Poets  and  Phi¬ 
losophers,  compared  with  the  Doctrines  of  Moses,”  1741;  "The  Chris¬ 
tian  Philosopher,”  1815;  "Science  a  Witness  for  the  Bible,”  i860: 
"Similarities  of  Physical  and  Religious  Knowledge,”  "Philosophy 
and  Christianity,”  1883;  “Chemistry  as  Exemplifying  the  Wisdom 
and  Beneficence  of  God,”  1844;  "Sacred  Philosophy  of  the  Seasons,” 
1839;  "Botany  and  Religion,”  "Christ  and  Science,”  1906,  by  a 
professor  in  the  University  of  Virginia. 


120 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


These  are  only  a  few  of  the  works  that  I  might  cite  whose  authors 
believe  that  creation  and  Christianity  have  one  and  the  same  God. 

In  the  spirit  of  prophecy  we  have  this  instruction:  “The  natural 
and  the  spiritual  are  to  be  combined  in  the  studies  given  in  our  schools.” 
We  shall  find  writers  who  give  the  Bible  its  place  in  history  and  lit¬ 
erature,  as  well  as  in  science.  This  cloud  of  witnesses  of  the  past  beckon 
us  on.  Shall  we  hesitate  and  falter?  or  shall  we  step  forward  quickly 
and  courageously,  performing  faithfully  our  work  in  the  erection  of 
this  educational  temple  that  God  has  called  upon  us  to  build  according 
to  the  pattern  shown  in  the  mount?  We  shall  not  have  to  send  to 
Egypt  or  Tyre  for  talent  and  skill  to  perform  this  work;  within  the 
church  of  God  are  the  resources,  the  talent,  the  skill  necessary  to  do 
the  work.  In  the  name  of  God  let  us  arise  and  build. 

There  will  be  obstacles  in  the  way,  and  perhaps  the  most  diffi¬ 
cult  to  surmount  will  be  to  finance  the  publishing  of  textbooks  used 
in  grades  that  permit  of  a  small  circulation.  But  if  we  are  impartial, 
we  shall  see  that  our  students  of  all  grades  are  provided  with  Christian 
textbooks.  A  textbook  fund  should  be  raised,  which  may  be  drawn 
upon  to  make  up  any  loss  in  publication.  I  believe  there  are  loyal 
supporters  of  Christian  education,  having  means,  who  would  liberally 
contribute  to  such  a  fund. 

We  have  given  and  are  giving  much  time  and  thought  to  the 
quantity  side,  the  efficiency  side,  of  our  educational  work;  but  I  hope 
the  kind  of  material,  as  well  as  the  quantity  and  the  method  of  hand¬ 
ling,  shall  be  carefully  considered.  The  kind  of  textbooks  used 
determines  largely  the  character  of  the  education  given.  Christian 
education  demands  a  literature  that  is  Christian  in  character.  A 
Christless,  Godless  literature,  even  though  supplemented  by  religious 
instruction  from  Christian  teachers,  will  never  meet  the  demands  of 
our  time  and  the  message  we  are  to  give  to  the  world  in  a  short  time. 
In  Christ  are  hid  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge,  and  in 
him  we  are  complete. 

DISCUSSION 

C.  L.  Stone:  The  next  step  in  any  enterprise,  either  great  or 
small,  is  easily  understood  and  easily  taken  if  the  enterprise  launched 
is  well  proportioned  and  has  a  proper  objective.  Promoters  usually 
grow  as  the  object  of  their  promotion  grows,  and  thus  are  ever  ready 
for  the  next  step.  Not  infrequently,  however,  original  plans  are  too 
narrow,  and  matters  of  great  and  vital  importance  to  the  permanence 
of  future  growth  are  too  rapidly  pushed,  tending  strongly  toward  the 
mushroom  rather  than  the  oak. 

Some  years  ago  a  university  in  one  of  the  middle  States  came 
squarely  against  a  knotty  question.  Originally,  grounds  had  been 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


121 


secured  and  buildings  for  the  immediate  needs  erected.  Later, 
other  buildings  were  added  as  the  institution  grew,  but  eventually 
the  point  was  reached  where  no  building  could  be  done  until  a  well- 
defined  plan  of  the  grounds  could  be  clearly  and  definitely  made  and 
kept  in  mind.  Landscape  artists  of  international  repute  were  secured, 
and  days  and  weeks  were  devoted  to  study  and  surveying.  At  last 
the  plans  were  in  blue  print,  and  to  the  astonishment  of  the  manage¬ 
ment,  the  next  step  was  to  undo  portions  of  what  had  seemed  to  be 
permanently  accomplished. 

Flower  beds  and  mounds  were  moved;  shrubbery  and  even  trees 
were  transplanted,  some  of  the  buildings  were  radically  changed, 
and  plans  for  new  buildings  were  entirely  remodeled.  Whatever 
was  to  be  done  in  the  future  would  be  in  harmony  with  the  blue  print. 
The  plan  was  beautiful  on  paper  as  the  artist  had  worked  it  out,  but 
it  was  left  to  the  management  to  translate  the  blue  print  into  materi¬ 
ality. 

When  Booker  T.  Washington  was  passing  through  the  experimental 
days  of  his  renowned  Tuskegee  institution,  on  one  occasion  he  felt 
a  strong  need  for  enlargement.  He  had  no  means  at  hand,  and  the 
only  building  available  was  a  long-used  poultry  house  of  the  older 
type.  He  cleaned  out  this  henroost  by  daylight,  and  made  room  for 
the  additional  classes.  Long  since,  this  house  has  been  abandoned. 
Probably  Mr.  Washington  would  not  use  the  same  building  today 
for  even  a  henroost,  unless  it  might  be  for  emergency,  as  in  the  former 
case. 

It  is  patent,  then,  from  even  these  illustrations,  that  the  most 
stupendous  undertakings  may  have  preliminary  steps;  and  if  started 
without  the  broadest  plans  and  the  most  clearly  defined  objectives, 
at  times  the  next  step  may  be  to  undo  or  to  abandon. 

Since  word  was  passed  around  t’  e  educational  circle,  a  few  years 
since,  that  textbooks  must  be  prepared,  some  activity  has  been  shown, 
and  all  will  concede  that  something  has  been  accomplished.  It  is 
very  evident  that  already  the  abandoning  process  is  well  under  way. 
Whether  the  texts  now  suffering  the  dust  of  disuse  can  be  regarded 
as  the  abandoned  poultry  house  or  a  removed  hillock  making  way 
for  a  giant  structure  after  the  most  approved  architecture,  is  the 
debatable  question. 

To  discuss  textbooks  leads  somewhat  afield  in  the  realm  of  text¬ 
book  writers.  Who  has  written  the  world’s  textbooks  that  have  been 
used  and  are  being  used?  What  has  been  the  experience,  the  edu¬ 
cation,  the  natural  endowments,  the  time  of  preparation,  of  these  men? 

Passing  by  that  class  of  writers  who  have  spent  more  than  half  a 
lifetime  traveling  and  investigating,  let  us  take  for  one  example  Mr. 


122 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Harris,  the  author  of  “The  Philosophy  of  Hegel.”  He  says,  “When 
I  promised  to  write  this  book,  in  1883,  I  intended  to  throw  together 
some  of  my  previous  studies  on  Hegel’s  logic,  with  the  addition  of 
more  or  less  new  matter  in  the  form  of  commentary  and  connecting 
introductions.  I  had  worked  pretty  constantly  on  the  subject  of 
this  logic  as  a  sort  of  center  of  all  my  thinking  since  the  year  i860, 
making,  it  is  true,  very  slow  progress.  I  have  always  cherished  the 
project  of  writing  some  sort  of  commentary  to  the  work,  but  did  not 
think  that  I  could  prepare  a  worthy  book  for  twenty  years.  I  soon 
discovered  that  if  I  were  to  place  before  the  public  an  immature 
work  on  this  subject,  I  should  find  myself  embarrassed  at  any  time 
afterward  to  obtain  a  hearing  for  the  ripened  views  which  I  hoped  to 
reach.” 

Again,  take  Warren  Colburn.  While  still  an  undergraduate  in  Har¬ 
vard,  but  withal  a  teacher  of  some  experience,  he  wrote  his  “First  Les¬ 
sons  in  Intellectual  Arithmetic.”  Although  yet  a  young  man,  he  felt 
safe  in  undertaking  such  a  task,  for  he  says  the  pupils  made  the  book 
for  him  in  the  questions  they  asked.  The  success  of  this  work  is 
attested  in  that  it  has  been  in  use  for  a  full  century,  and  has  been 
translated  into  several  European  and  Oriental  languages. 

Colburn’s  theory  was  to  set  his  children  at  simple  calculations  as 
soon  as  they  could  comprehend  more  or  less,  then  furnish  occasion 
for  them  to  exercise  their  own  skill  in  performing  examples,  and 
gradually  increase  the  difficulty  of  the  examples.  This  sounds  well 
enough,  and  if  applied  scientifically,  .ought  to  be  above  question. 
However,  a  modern  textbook  writer  makes  this  comment  on  the  work 
and  conclusions  of  Colburn:  — 

“If  Colburn  had  listened  more  carefully  and  heard  the  soul  of  the 
child  speak,  he  would  have  kept  ‘hands  off’  for  a  number  of  years. 
All  observers  of  children  will  agree  with  Colburn  that  they  are  able 
to  make  simple  calculations  about  their  playthings  and  about  their 
own  little  affairs.  The  work,  however,  should  stop  here  until  wider 
experiences  and  further  needs  demand  greater  knowledge  of  numbers. 

“We  are  beginning  formal  number  work  entirely  too  early,  and 
are  forcing  adult  applications  before  the  interests  and  experiences  of 
the  children  are  ready  for  them.  We  are  forcing  facts  and  processes  not 
needed  in  the  natural  activities  of  child  life,  either  in  or  out  of  school. 
We  are  thus  violating  every  principle  of  economy  in  teaching,  in  not 
finding  the  child’s  needs  and  interests,  and  teaching  the  right  thing 
at  the  right  time.  When  a  child  desires  to  know  a  thing  because  the 
knowledge  will  minister  to  his  own  needs,  pleasure,  or  curiosity,  it  is 
easy  indeed  to  teach  him;  but  to  try  to  force  learning  where  it  is  not 
desired,  is  uphill  business.  .  . 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


128 


“It  is  not  a  question,  then,  of  what  can  be  taught  at  any  given 
period  of  his  school  life,  but  a  question  of  what  and  when  a  thing  can 
be  taught  most  economically  —  a  question  of  whether  one  thing  or 
some  other  thing  had  better  be  taught  at  a  given  period  in  the  child’s 
development.” 

This  fairly  brings  before  us  the  question  of  when  as  well  as  what 
and  how.  Seventh-day  Adventists  have  spent  a  great  deal  of  thought 
and  effort  on  the  question  of  what  to  teach,  they  have  spent  some  time 
on  how  to  teach,  and  doubtless  have  given  some  thought  to  when  to 
teach.  But  it  is  evident  that  in  any  attempt  to  produce  textbooks 
for  the  various  grades  represented  in  our  schools,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  comprehend  in  a  very  broad  yet  very  definite  way  these  three 
elements. 

Since  it  is  conceded  by  all  that  modern  pedagogy  is  founded  on 
the  ripened  findings  of  psychologists,  the  what  to  teach  is  seen  to  cover 
only  a  small  fraction  of  the  field  which  must  be  comprehended  and 
thoroughly  worked  by  the  textbook  writer.  Even  in  the  what  there 
is  a  strong  modern  tendency  to  eliminate  that  which  one  time  was 
felt  to  be  vitally  essential,  and  to  add  very  much  that  touches  more 
practically  the  daily  life  of  the  adult. 

It  seems  quite  evident  that  a  writer  could  not  successfully  prepare 
a  series  of  lessons  for  any  particular  grade  of  pupils,  unless  he  has  had 
experience  in  the  classroom  with  that  very  grade.  His  experience  in 
meeting  the  questions  of  the  developing  minds,  if  backed  by  a  broad 
psychological  knowledge,  will  give  him  the  desired  opportunity  to 
learn  what  to  teach  and  when  to  teach  it.  He  will  not  be  a  mere 
theorist  in  what  should  be  given  to  students,  but  he  will  know  the 
things  that  the  developing  mind  ought  to  receiv.e.  He  will  not  make 
the  mistake  of  Colburn,  of  thrusting  upon  the  mind  that  for  which 
it  has  no  desire  and  is  not  prepared. 

There  is  yet  one  vital  element  which  must  be  reckoned  with,  and 
that  is  methods.  Perhaps  there  have  been  no  greater  or  more  rapid 
changes  within  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  in  any  line  of  thought  or 
investigation  than  in  that  of  methods.  And  the  end  is  not  yet. 
Hegel,  Rousseau,  Spencer,  Herbart,  Pestalozzi,  Comenius,  Froebel, 
McMurray,  De  Garmo,  and  some  other  lights  seem  to  be  coming  to 
their  own  in  more  modern  times,  but  the  waves  seem  to  set  in  one 
direction  and  then  in  another.  To  establish  a  real  school  system 
with  properly  graded  textbooks  in  all  the  different  branches,  would 
mean  to  decide  definitely  upon  the  methods  to  follow  as  well  as  the 
subject  matter  for  each  grade. 

Suppose,  for  example,  every  normal  school  in  the  denomination 
should  build  strongly  around  the  inductive  idea.  For  two  years  the 


124 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


young  teacher  is  drilled  to  approach  subjects  from  this  viewpoint. 
Toward  the  end  of  the  course  the  ideas  of  induction  begin  to  be  very 
well  fixed,  and  increasing  intelligence  is  manifested  in  seeking  for 
their  application  to  practical  school  work. 

The  normal  director,  in  teaching  the  professional  classes,  takes  up 
the  grammars,  the  readers,  the  nature  books,  the  geographies,  the 
Bible  books,  and  such  other  books  as  may  be  used  regularly  in  our 
schools,  and  finds  in  the  various  subjects  considerable  variety  in  the 
method  of  approach.  Suppose  one  has  clearly  the  inductive  spirit 
throughout;  another,  the  inductive  flavored  with  deductive;  and  yet 
another  is  plainly  marked  by  dogmatic  statements,  with  no  other 
thought  in  mind  than  to  get  the  greatest  number  of  facts  before  the 
pupil  in  a  given  time. 

The  question  naturally  arises,  How  shall  this  normal  director 
properly  launch  the  class  so  that  each  one  may  go  to  his  school  with 
a  definite  and  well-defined  plan  for  applying  the  principles  of  induc¬ 
tion  to  each  grade  he  is  to  teach?  Can  he  take  this  collection  of 
widely  differing  books,  and  organize  his  school  work  into  a  unit  of 
efficiency? 

It  may  be  altogether  too  much  to  expect  that  the  educators  of 
this  people,  having  received  training  from  such  varied  sources,  could 
ever  be  brought  to  see  entirely  alike  on  grading,  subject  matter,  and 
methods.  This  seems  improbable  from  the  fact  that  the  training  has 
been  received  in  schools  of  the  world,  differing  widely  in  theory  and 
in  practice;  and  also  inasmuch  as  some  are,  to  a  large  extent,  self- 
made.  However,  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  there  is  some  good 
meeting  ground  where  broad  and  sure  foundations  may  be  laid.  Have 
not  some  questions,  which  have  been  discussed  and  rediscussed  and 
then  laid  aside  as  the  next  number  of  a  series  of  vexed  questions, 
been  going  the  rounds  long  enough?  Is  not  this  the  time  and  place 
when  a  safe  and  sane  policy  may  be  entered  upon,  which  may  be  the 
guide  in  all  subsequent  fruit  of  our  efforts  educationally? 

Such  a  condition  as  the  following  has  not  been  unknown:  In  a 
college  conducted  by  our  people,  two  or  more  teachers  were  giving 
instruction  in  the  professional  and  philosophical  studies.  Students 
who  took  class  work  in  these  lines  found  that  truth  in  one  class  was 
error  in  another,  and  vice  versa.  It  is  probably  safe  to  venture  that 
if  a  student  were  to  take  class  work  today  in  every  advanced  school 
among  us,  he  would  Und  similar  discrepancies.  For  this  reason, 
does  it  not  seem  that  there  should  be  the  freest  discussion  of  method, 
subject  matter,  and  grading,  and  that  the  weakness  and  the  strength 
of  the  textbooks  already  in  hand  should  be  pointed  out,  that  “safety 
first”  may  characterize  the  next  step? 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


125 


Critjypisms  on  the  existing  textbooks  have  come  in  from  a  great 
variety  of  sources,  and  these  in  themselves  are  very  interesting.  Take 
for  instance  Bell’s  Language  series.  One  is  free  to  recommend  them 
most  heartily;  another  uses  them  only  because  they  are  backed  by 
the  General  Department  of  Education;  and  still  another  cautiously 
avoids  committing  himself,  on  the  ground  that  this  vexed  question 
will  be  settled  at  the  Council. 

One  is  certain  that  the  readers  are  far  too  hard  for  grades  one  and 
two,  and  that  more  attention  should  be  given  language.  Others  say 
the  reader  for  the  sixth  grade  is  entirely  beyond  sixth-grade  students, 
and  that  the  correlated  language  work  is  for  a  larger  caliber.  A 
long  paragraph  might  be  written  chronicling  the  criticisms  on  our 
present  books,  and  yet  leave  untouched  the  questions  of  style,  nat¬ 
uralness,  adaptation,  interest,  and  variety. 

Could  not  careful  consideration  also  be  given  to  a  systematic 
search  for  textbooks  prepared  for  the  public  schools  that  might  be 
adapted  to  our  work?  For  example,  let  us  take  geography.  The 
method  of  approach  to  this  subject  in  the  earlier  grades  has  undergone 
radical  changes  within  the  past  few  years.  The  progressive  Christian 
teacher  casts  about  for  some  textbook  which  applies  the  latest  in 
method  and  in  grading,  but  he  finds  evolution  budding  out  in  the 
first  grades,  blossoming  in  the  middle  grades,  and  bearing  fruit  in  the 
finishing  grades.  Barring  out  this  defect,  the  life,  the  spice,  and  the 
naturalness  that  form  the  warp  and  woof  of  the  real  textbook  are  all 
there.  What  shall  we  do  to  make  use  of  the  scholarship,  the  breadth 
of  vision,  and  the  knowledge  of  human  needs  clearly  recognized  and 
met  in  such  works? 

Again,  take  the  subject  of  arithmetic.  Mention  has  been  made 
in  some  of  our  periodicals  of  the  Stone-Millis  text.  It  is  well  under¬ 
stood  that  these  authors  are  innovators,  and  it  is  for  us  to  say  whether 
we  shall  indorse  the  freedom  they  assume  in  eliminating  in  whole  or 
in  part  many  time-honored  subdivisions. 

As  I  reflect  upon  the  preparation  for  writing  a  textbook,  there 
comes  to  mind  the  experience  of  a  gentleman  who  occupies  a  chair  in 
one  of  our  thriving  universities.  A  few  years  ago  he  conceived  the 
notion  of  writing  a  geometry  that  would  be  superior  to  any  of  the  text¬ 
books  he  had  used  in  all  his  long  career  as  a  teacher.  Gradually  he 
completed  all  his  propositions,  and  after  trying  out  the  book  for 
two  years,  was  greatly  puzzled  to  know  whether  or  not  he  could  ac¬ 
complish  more  with  his  own  book  than  with  any  one  of  several  others 
he  had  already  used. 

In  the  third  and  fourth  chapters  of  Joshua  is  the  narrative  of 
Israel’s  crossing  the  Jordan  into  the  Promised  Land.  A  few  points 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


126 

are  worthy  of  notice.  Joshua  was  the  accepted  head  or  director  of 
the  company.  The  whole  nation  was  made  acquainted  with  itfie  plans 
for  the  passage.  The  priests  preceded  the  company  into  the  stream, 
but  were  the  last  to  leave  the  river  bed.  They  made  sure  that  all 
Israel  had  fallen  into  line,  and  had  the  privilege  of  bringing  up  the 
rear. 

Since  it  seems  quite  improbable  that  some  towering  landscape 
artist  will  arise  among  us  to  survey  and  prepare  blue  prints  for  all 
time  to  come,  clearly  indicating  the  present  changes  and  the  future 
needs,  it  seems  conclusive  that  Israel  today  will  have  to  act  the  coun¬ 
terpart  of  Israel  in  Joshua’s  time.  Surely  Israel  then  had  the  essential 
elements  of  a  successful  entry.  Today  there  must  be  a  Joshua  in 
whom  all  have  confidence.  This  Joshua  must  see  the  need  and  lay 
the  plan.  Then  it  devolves  upon  the  priests  (textbook  committee) 
to  be  the  vanguard,  yet  to  keep  in  such  close  touch  with  the  rank  and 
file  of  Israel  that  confidence  may  be  inspired  and  that  every  man  may 
fall  into  line. 

Perhaps  i-n  taking  the  next  step,  the  following  propositions  might 
be  among  those  that  could  be  considered :  — 

1.  That  we  recognize  that  the  instruction  to  keep  infidel  authors 
out  of  the  hands  of  our  youth  is  not  confined  to  the  grammar  grades, 
and  therefore  textbooks  are  needed  for  more  advanced  work. 

2.  That  textbook  writers  should  be  those  who  have  taught  the 
grades  for  which  the  books  are  intended;  for  only  in  that  manner  can 
first-hand  information  be  secured  in  subject  matter  and  grading. 

3.  That  a  book  be  published  only  after  it  has  been  tried  and  found 
worthy. 

4.  That  the  textbook  committee  be  as  representative  as  prac¬ 
ticable,  and  that  its  work  be  supplemented  by  the  criticism  of  all  our 
experienced  teachers  in  the  grades  for  which  the  book  is  prepared. 

5.  That  a  series  of  resolutions  be  drawn  up  and  adopted  at  this 
Council,  embodying  general  principles  of  methodology,  to  be  applied 
in  all  the  normal  departments  within  our  ranks. 

6.  That  a  fund  be  raised  from  some  source  to  support  the  teacher 
of  broad  vision  and  definite  knowledge,  while  he  is  endeavoring  to 
write  the  textbooks  to  cover  the  need  of  his  particular  field. 

Lastly,  let  me  say,  let  us  give  all  honor  to  those  who  have  had  the 
courage  and  perseverance  to  blaze  the  w'ay  with  such  textbooks  as 
have  been  prepared  and  are  in  use.  All  will  acknowledge  that  it  is 
far  easier  to  analyze  and  express  an  opinion  of  certain  weaknesses  in 
a  given  textbook,  than  to  set  about  repairing  that  weakness,  to  say 
nothing  of  originating  the  entire  work. 


STANDARDS  OF  CLASSIFICATION  AND 

GRADUATION 


M.  E.  OLSEN 

The  principles  governing  the  classification  of  students,  the  amount 
of  advanced  credit  that  is  to  be  allowed,  the  extent  of  the  substitu¬ 
tions  permitted, —  these  and  many  other  matters  continually  coming 
before  the  College  Credits  Committee  very  largely  determine  the  char¬ 
acter  of  the  college  and  the  reputation  it  will  have  in  the  educational 
world.  If  there  is  laxness  or  carelessness  in  this  regard  alone,  no  mat¬ 
ter  how  excellent  the  equipment  and  faculty,  the  college  will  be  a 
failure  as  an  institution  of  learning;  for  the  degrees  it  confers  will  not 
be  respected . 

The  subject  being  a  very  comprehensive  one,  and  the  time  allow¬ 
ance  small,  it  has  seemed  best  to  treat  only  those  phases  of  it  which 
are  most  likely  to  touch  the  work  of  this  Convention.  Let  us  then 
propound  and  endeavor  tentatively  to  answer  a  few  of  the  practical 
questions  that  are  continually  coming  before  the  College  Credits 
Committee. 

i.  How  much  credit  should  be  allowed  students  coming  from  one 
of  our  own  schools?  The  answer  will  be,  Such  a  student  should  re¬ 
ceive  credit  in  full  for  all  work  done.  That  is,  if  he  has  completed 
the  course  in  one  of  our  twelve-grade  academies,  he  should  be 
admitted  without  condition  to  the  freshman  year  in  one  of  our 
colleges. 

But  suppose  he  has  not  done  the  work.  Suppose,  for  instance, 
that  he  comes  from  an  academy  in  which  grammar  instead  of  composi¬ 
tion-rhetoric  is  taught  in  the  ninth  grade,  and  arithmetic  instead  of 
algebra.  In  such  case  he  is  two  full  units  behind  a  pupil  who  comes 
from  an  academy  that  requires  for  admission  to  its  first  year  a  thor¬ 
ough  knowledge  of  both  arithmetic  and  grammar.  The  credits  com¬ 
mittee  cannot  possibly  consider  these  two  students  as  on  the  same 
basis.  It  must  discriminate  in  favor  of  the  one,  and  require  the  other 
pupil  in  some  way  to  make  up  the  deficiency. 

Discrepancies  may  occur  in  other  ways.  Here  is  a  student  who 
desires  credit  for  first-year  Latin;  but  it  is  found  on  inquiry  that  he 
happened  to  belong  to  a  weak  class,  and  that  the  teacher,  instead  of 
bringing  the  class  up  to  the  standard,  lowered  the  standard  to  the 
abilities  of  the  class;  instead  of  completing  the  regular  first-year 
textbook,  he  took  the  class  only  two  thirds  of  the  way  through  it. 
Or,  the  teacher  in  English  literature,  instead  of  giving  a  thorough 

127 


128 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


course  in  the  great  authors,  read  a  few  short  extracts,  and  spent  a 
good  part  of  the  time  reading  hooks  with  no  literary  value,  on  the 
supposition  that  everything  in  print  is  literature,  and  that  if  a  book 
represents  good  moral  ideas,  it  may  properly  take  the  place  of  any 
of  the  English  classics. 

These  are  not  imaginary  cases.  I  speak  wholly  from  personal  ex¬ 
perience.  It  is  one  of  the  sad  duties  of  the  chairman  of  the  credits 
committee  to  have  to  inform  students  that  work  done  in  the  ninth 
grade  was  not  ninth-grade  work  at  all,  but  work  that  belonged  in  the 
eighth  grade;  or  that  a  given  course  in  English  was  not  sufficiently 
thoroughgoing,  and  some  additional  work  must  be  done  in  order  to 
fill  up  the  due  measure  of  credit.  It  is  the  more  painful  to  have  to 
make  such  decisions  because  the  student  himself  is  not  to  blame; 
he  suffers  from  a  condition  for  which  he  is  not  responsible. 

Obviously  the  solution  of  this  question  lies  in  a  due  coordination 
of  our  schools  throughout  the  country,  an  agreement  as  to  certain 
definite  standards,  and  then  a  conscientious  conforming  to  those 
standards  on  the  part  of  all  our  teachers. 

I  wish  in  this  connection  to  plead  for  thorough  work  in  the  common 
branches.  Grammar  and  arithmetic  should  be  very  prominent  stud¬ 
ies  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades,  and  pupils  should  not  be  allowed 
to  leave  these  grades  until  they  have  mastered  these  very  important 
subjects.  Spelling  is  another  study  that  should  be  fully  covered  in 
the  church  school.  It  is  not  to  the  credit  of  our  church  schools  that 
the  students  who  come  from  them  to  the  academies  and  colleges  are 
so  often  weak  in  both  grammar  and  spelling,  and  must  devote  a  con¬ 
siderable  part  of  their  time  in  the  academic  and  perhaps  even  in  the 
college  course  to  making  good  this  deficiency.  If  it  is  contended 
that  the  lower  grades  are  crowded  and  cannot  find  time  to  teach  the 
common  branches,  then  I  would  respectfully  say,  First  things  first. 
Leave  out  something  else  if  necessary,  but  teach  the  boys  and  girls 
to  read,  and  write,  and  spell,  and  cipher. 

Another  question  that  naturally  arises  in  connection  with  this 
subject  is:  When,  where,  and  by  whom  shall  the  amount  of  advanced 
credit  to  be  allowed  a  pupil  be  decided?  Shall  the  burden  rest  wholly 
with  the  credits  committee?  Shall  it  be  the  duty  of  that  small  body 
to  decide  how  much  credit  shall  be  allowed  a  pupil  in  German,  Eng¬ 
lish,  mathematics,  Bible,  science,  etc.?  or  shall  the  various  heads  of 
departments,  each  in  his  own  department,  determine  the  amount  to 
be  allowed?  It  would  seem  as  if  the  latter  would  be  much  the  better 
plan.  The  man  who  is  giving  his  whole  time  to  the  teaching  of  a  sub¬ 
ject  is  much  better  qualified  to  determine  how  much  credit  should  be 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


129 


allowed  for  certain  work  done  in  that  subject,  than  is  a  committee 
no  member  of  which  may  be  fully  conversant  with  it. 

But  this  involves,  further,  that  the  pupil  shall  be  required  to 
present  his  credits  in  person  and  not  by  letter.  In  the  past  there 
have  been  cases  where  students  have  written  to  two  or  even  three 
of  our  colleges  to  see  where  they  could  get  the  most  credit  in  the 
work  done.  The  college  which  replied  conservatively,  as  any  good 
college  ought  to  do  in  such  a  case,  leaving  the  exact  classification  of 
the-  student  to  be  determined  after  his  arrival,  was  placed  at  a  dis¬ 
advantage,  and  the  college  which  was  most  willing  to  promise  credit 
without  first  having  an  opportunity  to  look  closely  into  the  work, 
probably  obtained  the  student.  Competition  of  this  kind  is  not  for 
the  best  interest  of  our  educational  work. 

The  general  principle  should  obtain,  undoubtedly,  that  full  credit 
be  given  for  good,  faithful  work  done  in  any  of  our  schools;  but  the 
classification  of  the  pupil,  and  the  precise  amount  of  credit  that  shall 
be  allowed  him,  should  be  settled  after  his  arrival  at  college,  and  as 
a  result  of  personal  interviews  with  the  various  heads  of  departments, 
in  the  course  of  which  the  pupil  should  present  documentary  evidence 
of  the  ground  covered,  and  answer  fully  any  questions  that  may  be 
put  to  him,  and  if  need  be  submit  to  an  examination. 

One  thing  that  would  add  greatly  to  the  ease  and  effectiveness 
with  which  credit  could  be  allowed  to  students  passing  from  one 
school  to  another,  would  be  the  adoption  of  a  uniform  system  of 
recitation  hours  and  divisions  of  the  school  year.  At  the  present 
time  some  of  our  schools  have  recitation  hours  lasting  a  full  hour, 
some  have  forty-five-minute  recitations,  some  have  dropped  to  forty 
and  even  thirty  minutes.  Moreover,  some  divide  the  school  year 
into  three  terms,  while  the  majority  of  our  colleges  have  adopted 
the  plan  of  making  just  two  divisions  and  calling  them  semesters. 
Which  is  the  plan  that  will  most  nearly  satisfy  all  the  conditions  of 
good  work?  The  best  plan  ought  to  possess  at  least  two  advantages: 
First,  it  should  be  as  simple  as  is  consistent  with  the  requirements, 
for  simplicity  is  a  valuable  quality  in  all  operations  involving  num¬ 
bers  of  people;  secondly,  it  should  be  a  plan  that  will  favor  thorough 
work  in  all  departments  of  the  college;  thirdly,  it  should  permit  the 
largest  amount  of  flexibility  in  the  conducting  of  a  variety  of  courses, 
especially  in  collegiate  work. 

There  is  one  plan,  and  only  one,  that  meets  all  three  requirements; 
namely,  that  which  divides  the  year  into  two  equal  parts,  known  as 
semesters,  and  which  takes  the  semester  hour  as  the  unit  of  college 
work.  According  to  this  plan,  a  class  meeting  once  a  week  for  a  full 
hour’s  recitation  would  entitle  the  student  to  one  hour  of  credit 


9 


130 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


toward  his  degree;  if  the  same  class  were  carried  through  the  entire 
year,  it  would  yield  two  hours’  credit.  A  class  meeting  twice  a  week 
for  one  semester  would  yield  two  hours,  one  meeting  three  times  a 
week,  three  hours,  etc.  The  total  number  of  these  semester  hours 
required  for  graduation  would  be  one  hundred  and  twenty,  that  is, 
fifteen  hours  for  each  semester,  thirty  hours  for  each  year,  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty  hours  for  the  four  years. 

The  objection  may  be  urged  that  the  adoption  of  this  arrange¬ 
ment  would  allow  only  five  recitation  periods  per  day  instead  of  six, 
as  under  the  forty-five-minute  plan  of  operation;  but  this  objection 
really  does  not  hold  in  actual  practice.  The  semester  hour  plan,  by 
allowing  much  greater  flexibility  in  the  length  and  duration  of  the 
courses,  removes  as  many  conflicts  as  are  created  by  the  lessening  of 
the  recitation  periods.  For  instance,  the  system  naturally  develops 
a  number  of  two-hour  courses  that  operate,  as  it  were,  side  by  side 
with  three-hour  courses,  the  first  coming  on  Tuesday  and  Thursday, 
the  latter  on  Monday,  Wednesday,  and  Friday. 

The  same  flexibility,  in  a  measure,  can  be  obtained  in  the  academic 
department  by  having  the  classes  meet  four  times  a  week  for  a  full 
hour,  instead  of  five  times  for  forty-five  minutes.  There  could  then 
be  such  an  arrangement  of  the  various  studies  that  some  would  come 
on  Monday,  Tuesday,  Wednesday,  and  Thursday;  others  on  Mon¬ 
day,  Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Friday.  Another  adjustment  that 
would  be  possible  in  the  academic  course,  and  might  possibly  be  de¬ 
sirable  in  the  lower  grades,  would  be  for  the  academic  classes  to  meet 
five  times  a  week  for  the  full  hour,  and  have  the  teacher  occupy  the 
first  forty-five  minutes  for  the  recitation,  and  then  let  the  last  fifteen 
minutes  be  used  in  class  study  in  the  room,  under  the  teacher’s 
supervision. 

This  plan  has  been  in  operation  in  the  Washington  Missionary 
College  during  the  past  year,  and  has  given  excellent  satisfaction  to 
both  teachers  and  students,  both  in  the  academic  and  in  the  college 
grades.  The  chief  advantage  of  the  plan  is  that  it  gives  the  instructors 
in  the  college  department  an  opportunity  to  do  their  work  unhindered 
by  the  short  recitation  period.  In  any  subject  in  which  an  effort  is 
made  to  cover  the  subject  satisfactorily,  there  will  be  many  occasions 
when  the  short  period  seriously  interferes  with  the  efficiency  of  the 
work.  Five  minutes  or  more  will  necessarily  be  spent  in  going  and 
coming,  a  little  time  must  be  given  to  announcing  the  next  lesson,  and 
the  chapel  exercises  may  run  overtime.  So  under  the  forty-five-minute 
regime  the  teacher  really  gets  on  the  average  scarcely  more  than 
thirty  minutes  for  the  subject  of  the  day,  and  that  is  too  short  for 
obtaining  the  best  results. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


131 


Allow  me,  in  conclusion,  to  sum  up  briefly  what  it  seems  to  me  are 
some  of  the  chief  essentials  to  a  successful  carrying  on  of  the  work 
of  the  credits  committee:  — 

1.  There  should  be  such  an  understanding  between  our  various 
schools,  and  such  a  degree  of  uniformity  as  to  the  amount  of  work 
covered  and  the  time  spent  in  recitation,  that  students  could  be  readily 
classified. 

2.  The  entrance  requirements  of  the  academy  should  call  for  the 
completion  of  all  subjects  that  properly  belong  in  the  eighth  grade. 
Especially  rigid  should  be  the  inquiry  into  the  student’s  knowledge 
of  the  common  branches.  These  practical  subjects  which  he  is  to 
use  all  his  life  are  really  more  important  for  him  than  are  many  of 
the  more  advanced  studies  that  are  taken  in  the  college  course. 

3.  The  amount  of  credit  to  be  allowed  should  be  determined  after 
the  arrival  of  the  student,  and  by  the  various  heads  of  departments 
in  the  school. 

4.  The  unit  of  value  in  college  work  should  be  the  semester  hour, 
for  two  reasons:  Because  it  gives  the  needed  flexibility  in  the  length 
of  the  courses;  and  because  it  provides  sufficient  time  in  the  class¬ 
room  for  the  teacher  to  do  thorough  work. 

5.  The  work  of  the  credits  committee  and  of  the  individual  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  school,  in  looking  into  the  character  of  the  work  for  which 
credit  is  requested,  should  be  done  with  absolute  impartiality  and  on 
conservative  lines.  This  is  necessary  in  the  interest  of  the  pupil. 
He  will  submit  without  murmur  when  he  is  made  to  understand  that 
the  work  of  every  other  pupil  is  scrutinized  with  the  same  conscien¬ 
tious  care,  and  that  it  is  all  done  with  the  one  purpose  in  view  of  safe¬ 
guarding  his  own  best  interests,  and  providing  conditions  which  will 
insure  that  the  college  will  be  respected  and  its  degrees  recognized  as 
standing  for  honest,  solid  work,  and  for  such  a  measure  of  all-round 
culture  as  is  naturally  associated  with  the  college  degree. 

I  believe  this  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  instruction  that  has  been 
given  us.  We  have  been  told  through  the  spirit  of  prophecy  that 
the  work  done  in  our  schools  should  be  of  such  a  character  as  to  at¬ 
tract  the  attention  of  the  world,  not  by  its  cheapness,  but  by  its 
excellence.  This,  moreover,  is  in  keeping  with  such  scriptures  as, 
“Study  to  show  thyself  approved  unto  God,  a  workman  that  need- 
eth  not  to  be  ashamed.”  And  again,  “Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  even 
as  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  perfect.”  May  God  give  us  as 
teachers  grace  and  wisdom  to  do  our  work  in  the  spirit  of  these  texts, 
and  may  our  schools  do  their  full  part  in  preparing  a  people  to  stand 
without  spot  or  wrinkle  before  the  throne  of  God. 


132 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


DISCUSSION 

F.  Griggs:  This  is  certainly  a  very  practical  paper,  and  suggests 
a  good  many  points  that  we  need  to  study.  There  is  no  question  but 
that  the  conditions  existing  in  our  schools  as  to  the  length  of  recitation 
hour,  and  other  bases  of  credit,  do  hinder  our  work  very  materially. 
We  cannot  do  good  work  until  we  can  work  on  a  common  basis. 

H.  A.  Washburn:  This  is  a  problem  that  has  confronted  us  very 
often.  It  is  a  situation  that  we  are  unable  to  help,  unless  there  is  a 
general  understanding  in  all  our  schools;  and  it  seems  to  me  that  in 
this  Council  there  should  be  a  very  clear  recommendation  on  this 
point,  so  that  when  we  find  students  deficient,  we  can  report  to  the 
academy  from  which  they  came  in  a  way  that  will  not  necessarily  dis¬ 
courage  the  school  or  make  them  think  that  we  are  criticizing  them, 
but  in  a  way  that  will  make  them  feel  that  we  are  following  out  a 
generally  adopted  plan,  and  that  will  stimulate  them  to  improve 
their  work. 

If  there  can  be  a  plan  worked  out  showing  what  to  do  with  stu¬ 
dents  who  have  passed  through  any  particular  academy  and  have 
received  credits,  and  yet  are  found  to  be  deficient  in  the  branches 
studied,  it  would  seem  that  this  would  stimulate  our  academies  to 
strengthen  their  work.  We  have  had  changes  in  the  faculties  so  fre¬ 
quently  that  a  well-planned  work  has  not  been  done.  It  seems  that 
the  best  we  can  do  here  is  to  have  a  well-prepared  recommendation 
passed  by  this  Council  and  adopted  in  the  various  councils  in  the 
union  conferences. 

E.  J.  Hibbard:  This  college  has  had  a  forty-minute  recitation  pe¬ 
riod,  but  we  have  added  three  weeks  to  our  school  year  in  order  to 
make  up  for  it.  We  have  our  industrial  work,  which  requires  a  por¬ 
tion  of  the  day,  and  to  get  this  in  with  the  literary  work  of  the  school, 
we  can  have  only  forty  minutes  for  recitation;  but  we  have  thirty- 
nine  weeks  of  school  instead  of  thirty-six,  and  this  makes  up  very 
well. 

J.  L.  Shaw:  There  was  a  point  brought  out  in  the  paper  in  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  amount  of  time  given  to  a  subject,  which  we  ought  to  con¬ 
sider.  It  takes  time  to  get  to  the  class  and  get  the  mind  to  working. 
But  after  you  are  once  under  motion,  you  can  accomplish  a  great  deal  in 
a  short  time.  In  this  respect  a  lengthening  of  the  class  period  is  to 
the  advantage  of  the  work.  If  you  have  a  forty-five-minute  period, 
and  yet  take  five  minutes  in  getting  to  the  class,  and  five  more  in 
announcing  the  work  for  the  next  day,  then  it  leaves  you  only  thirty 
to  thirty-five  minutes  for  the  recitation,  and  part  of  that  is  consumed 
in  getting  under  headway.  If  you  can  add  a  clear  ten  or  fifteen  min- 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


133 


utes  after  you  are  under  headway,  there  is  a  possibility  of  accom¬ 
plishing  much  more  in  that  fifteen  minutes  than  you  would  if  you 
did  not  have  it.  It  does  not  depend  altogether  on  the  exact  amount 
of  time  we  spend  in  recitation,  but  on  the  division  of  that  time  to  the 
best  advantage.  The  educational  institutions  in  the  country  — 
I  think  most  of  the  colleges  —  follow  our  system.  They  have  found 
from  an  experience  of  many  years  that  there  is  something  in  it  worthy 
of  consideration  by  our  educators, —  not  simply  the  number  of  minutes 
spent  in  recitation,  but  the  amount  of  work  to  be  accomplished  in 
that  time. 

M.  E.  Cady:  This  question  is  perhaps  as  perplexing  as  any  we  have 
to  deal  with,  but  I  think  it  would  be  impossible  for  us  to  lay  down 
any  hard-and-fast  regulations  regarding  it,  because  we  have  so  many 
complex  conditions  to  meet.  Now  for  students  of  the  college,  the 
one-hour  period  is  splendid;  but  that  the  academic  students  should 
have  the  same  length  of  time  is  not  necessarily  true.  If  we  try  to 
make  it  the  same  for  the  sake  of  uniformity,  we  shall  find  that  it  can¬ 
not  be  carried  out  in  many  schools,  especially  in  the  intermediate 
and  church  schools  carrying  perhaps  nine  and  ten  grades.  Let  us 
come  as  near  as  we  can  to  uniformity,  when  it  comes  to  the  question 
of  accepting  the  work  done;  that  is,  let  the  college  accept  the  work  of 
the  academy,  and  the  academy  that  of  the  church  school,  so  far  as 
possible.  We  have  church  schools  where  one  teacher  handles  eight 
grades,  and  others  where  there  are  two  or  three  teachers.  I  do  not 
think  we  can  ever  harmonize  that  work  throughout.  While  it  is 
important  that  we  should  have  as  much  time  as  we  can,  yet  I  would 
emphasize  the  matter  of  thorough  instruction,  good  teachers,  and 
the  equipment  necessary  for  the  work. 

We  ought  to  study  this  problem,  and  while  it  may  be  lawful,  yet 
I  do  not  think  it  would  be  expedient,  to  pass  any  regulations  that 
would  be  hard  and  fast  in  the  matter.  I  think  we  should  have  a  plan, 
and  that  we  should  follow  it  as  nearly  as  we  can. 

In  this  conference  are  several  church  schools  carrying  ninth-  and 
tenth-grade  work.  If  we  should  require  them  to  have  forty-five-min¬ 
ute  periods,  we  would  have  to  add  to  our  teaching  force,  and  our 
churches  would  simply  say  they  could  not  do  it.  We  have  this  stand¬ 
ard, —  that  no  church  school  shall  carry  ten  grades  of  work  with  less 
than  three  teachers,  or  nine  grades  with  less  than  two  teachers.  In 
some  cases  one  teacher  has  been  trying  to  carry  ten  grades;  and 
we  have  asked  the  trustees  to  get  another  teacher,  and  they  have 
responded.  Our  patrons  desire  good  work  done,  and  I  think  they 
will  go  to  the  limit  in  providing  teachers  and  equipment. 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


134 


H.  S.  Olson:  In  endeavoring  to  solicit  students  for  our  acade¬ 
mies,  seminaries,  or  colleges,  I  have  found  that  one  of  the  first  ques¬ 
tions  asked  by  students  of  the  academies  is,  What  credit  will  be  al¬ 
lowed  by  the  college  in  that  union?  Now  in  the  State  schools,  one 
may  turn  to  the  catalogue  of  the  university  and  see  what  credit  is 
allowed  for  all  high  schools  in  the  State;  it  seems  to  me  that  we  ought 
to  have  a  similar  system,  so  that  all  might  know,  without  taking  up 
correspondence  with  the  college.  It  is  difficult  to  come  to  a  good 
understanding,  at  least  in  time  to  let  the  student  know  before  the 
school  year  begins,  what  credit  he  will  receive  for  the  work  done. 
I  should  very  much  like  to  see  something  done  in  order  to  arrive  at 
a  resolution,  the  carrying  out  of  which  would  mean  a  good  under¬ 
standing. 


HOW  CAN  WE  STRENGTHEN  OUR  NORMAL 

TRAINING  WORK? 

B.  B.  DAVIS 

Probably  no  need  of  our  normal  training  work  at  present  is  greater 
than  that  of  lighter  class  work  for  normal  directors  and  critic-teach¬ 
ers.  If  the  normal  director  must  devote  a  full  day’s  work  to  the 
actual  teaching  and  preparing  of  class  work,  how  can  his  work  be 
progressive?  How  can  he  do  enough  systematic  supervision  in  the 
training  school  to  be  of  real  value  to  his  teachers  and  students?  How 
can  he  have  time  to  sit  down  quietly  to  study  and  plan,  and  then 
introduce  and  carry  out  those  plans?  If  the  critic- teacher  must  spend 
a  full  school  day  in  actual  schoolroom  work,  and  then  sandwich  in 
the  methods  work  during  the  afternoon,  early  morning,  or  evening, 
how  can  her  tired  body  do  any  more?  How  can  she  spend  a  pleasant 
hour  or  two  in  reading,  aside  from  her  prescribed  work?  Often  the 
pressure  of  her  work  is  so  great  that  she  does  not  take  sufficient  phys¬ 
ical  exercise.  Perhaps  days  pass  and  she  has  taken  no  recreation  of 
any  kind.  This  may  not  be  altogether  the  fault  of  the  program  of 
class  work.  Perhaps  by  careful  planning  and  conservation  of  time 
she  could  get  an  hour  off  for  a  walk  or  some  other  form  of  diversion  in 
the  open  air.  But  if  plans  are  carefully  laid  and  the  hour  saved, 
there  is  a  letter  that  should  have  been  written  six  weeks  ago,  there  is 
a  dress  to  be  mended,  or  a  new  garment  to  make,  or  there  is  some 
Sabbath  school  work  to  do,  or  a  song  to  practice  for  church,  or  — 
and  we  might  continue  naming  little  things  that  must  be  done  sim¬ 
ply  because  the  teacher  is  an  individual,  and  lives  in  a  civilized  com¬ 
munity —  and  they  all  take  time, 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


135 


1  am  not  making  a  plea  that  the  teacher’s  work  be  lightened  so 
that  he  may  hold  down  an  “easy  job.”  No  Christian  teacher  wants  an 
easy  job.  His  heart  is  in  the  work,  and  he  is  willing  to  “spend  and 
be  spent.”  “Efficiency”  is  a  word  much  in  evidence  at  the  present 
time.  “Conservation”  is  another.  Why  not,  while  so  many  things 
of  less  value  are  being  conserved,  conserve  the  “efficiency”  of  our 
teachers?  Why  should  there  be  among  Seventh-day  Adventists  so 
many  prematurely  broken-down,  out-of-service  teachers? 

Better  equipment  would  strengthen  our  work.  The  facilities 
which  have  been  added  during  the  past  few  years  have  increased  the 
efficiency  of  our  schools  manyfold.  For  this  we  are  truly  thankful; 
but  a  greater  work  is  before  us.  Sometimes  it  happens  that  we  could 
get  the  facilities  if  we  had  a  place  for  them.  This  brings  us  face  to 
face  with  the  financial  problem.  People  do  not  invest  their  money 
without  feeling  that  they  will  get  full  value  in  return.  This  demands 
more  men  in  the  conference  work  who  know  the  needs  of  the  normal 
departments,  and  who  will  present  these  needs  to  the  people  in  such 
a  way  that  they  will  give  of  their  means  to  provide  better  equipment. 

I  believe  it  is  right  that  some  competent  person  should  be  allowed 
to  present  the  needs  of  this  department  at  the  camp  meetings.  People 
respond  liberally  to  calls  for  other  needy  lines  of  work.  Why  not 
for  the  normal?  What  is  nearer  or  dearer  to  parents  and  church 
members  generally  than  the  lambs  of  the  flock? 

Never  will  our  academies  and  colleges  be  well  filled  until  a  good 
system  of  church  schools  is  maintained  in  the  churches.  These  are 
the  “feeders.”  This  means  that  the  standard  of  our  requirements 
for  teachers  shall  be  raised.  We  cannot  fill  our  small  church  schools 
with  teachers  who  have  completed  only  nine  or  ten  grades  of  work, 
and  expect  to  have  our  church  schools  recognized  as  a  vital  force  in  . 
our  system  of  education.  Such  teachers  have  been  a  great  blessing 
in  the  building  up  of  this  work,  and  God  has  been  with  them.  But 
now  facilities  have  increased,  and  we  have  many  qualified  teachers 
to  take  the  places  of  those  who  need  to  continue  their  training. 
Many  of  these  young  people  should  be  encouraged  to  make  a  thorough 
preparation.  A  few  months  of  actual  teaching  has  taught  them 
what  they  lack,  and  they  should  make  strong  students.  By  sending 
well-qualified  teachers  to  the  different  churches,  the  importance  ol 
the  normal  training  work  will  be  emphasized.  If  a  church  employs 
an  untrained  teacher  and  she  fails,  and  the  next  year  employs  a  grad¬ 
uate  from  the  normal  department  of  the  college  and  she  carries  the 
work  well, —  and  almost  all  of  them  will, —  that  church  will  demand 
another  normal  graduate  when  their  present  teacher  is  called  to 
another  place. 


136 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Many  churches  yet  feekthat  as  long  as  the  young  person  is  con¬ 
secrated  and  has  completed  one  or  two  grades  more  than  the  oldest 
pupil  in  school,  she  is  qualified  to  teach  their  school.  The  impor¬ 
tance  of  having  qualified  teachers  should  be  kept  before  our  school 
boards  and  parents  until  they  sense  it.  This  requires  time  and  effort. 
The  conference  and  union  conference  secretaries  have  already  done 
much  in  getting  the  good  work  started.  This  subject  should  be  in¬ 
cluded  in  the  program  on  Educational  Sabbath.  Every  opportunity 
should  be  used  to  write  articles  for,  and  to  send  reports  of  work  done 
to,  the  conference  paper.  Keep  the  normal  work  in  the  minds  of 
the  people.  In  other  words,  advertise  —  and  then  live  up  to  your 
advertisement. 

I  believe  another  excellent  way  to  make  our  normal  training  work 
more  efficient  would  be  an  exchange  of  teachers  during  summer  school. 
If  a  teacher  has  been  working,  let  us  say,  at  Union  College  during 
the  year  and  another  teacher  at  Pacific  Union,  it  would  be  valuable 
both  to  the  school  and  to  the  teacher  if  they  exchanged  places  dur¬ 
ing  their  respective  summer  schools.  The  new  teacher  would  bring 
many  new  ideas,  and  that  fact  in  itself  would  draw  students  for  sum¬ 
mer  work  who  would  not  otherwise  come.  It  is  doubtless  untrue; 
but  some  of  our  advanced  normal  graduates  feel  that  they  know 
about  all  their  alma  mater  has  to  offer  along  the  line  of  methods  work. 
If  a  new  methods  teacher  came  for  the  summer  term,  such  students 
would  want  the  new  ideas  he  would  be  sure  to  bring..  The  trip,  the 
new  environment,  the  new  friends,  would  be  a  wonderful  inspiration 
to  the  teacher,  and  he  would  go  back  to  his  own  school  full  of  new  ideas 
to  put  into  practice.  This  exchange  of  teachers  would  work  good  in 
other  ways.  Greater  sympathy  would  exist  among  our  teachers,  be¬ 
cause  each  would  know  more  of  the  conditions  under  which  the  other 
works.  Having  become  acquainted,  each  would  feel  freer  to  suggest  to 
the  other  lines  of  improvement.  And  he  could  do  it  intelligently, 
because  he  had  been  there  and  knows  conditions. 

Educators  of  the  public  schools  say  that  teachers’  salaries  are  too 
low.  Teachers  in  Seventh-day  Adventist  schools  receive  not  more 
than  fifty  per  cent  of  what  teachers  of  corresponding  grades  in  the 
public  schools  receive.  God  forbid  that  any  spirit  of  complaint 
should  escape  our  lips,  because  our  school  boards  have  done  nobly, 
and  over  and  over  again  have  I  heard  board  members  say,  “I’m  sorry 
we  are  unable  to  pay  more;  but  we  can’t  see  our  way  clear  to  do 
more  this  year.”  But  when  our  teachers  are  assured  a  salary  large 
enough  to  provide  for  their  reasonable  needs  for  twelve  months  in 
the  year,  and  the  financial  strain  now  resting  on  many  of  our  teachers 
is  removed,  there  will  be  a  marked  improvement,  not  only  in  our  nor- 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


137 


mal  training  departments,  but  also  in  all  departments  of  our  school 
work. 

There  is  nothing,  perhaps,  of  more  educational  value  to  a  teacher 
than  travel.  Teachers  need  it,  especially  the  teachers  of  children. 
If  a  teacher  can  step  before  her  class  and  say,  “Today,  boys  and  girls, 
I  want  to  tell  you  about  my  trip  to  Yellowstone  Park,”  or  Niagara 
Falls,  or  the  Mammoth  Cave,  or  the  Big  Trees,  or  any  of  the  hun¬ 
dreds  of  interesting  places  that  people  visit,  that  teacher  has  at  once 
a  room  full  of  interested  children.  They  think  she  is  a  wonderful 
teacher,  and  they  will  accept  her  word  as  authority  on  any  subject, 
because  she’s  been  to  Niagara  Falls!  And  even  older  students  and 
people  generally  listen  to  a  person  who  has  traveled,  and  knows 
things  at  first  hand.  If  the  suggestion  for  the  interchange  of  teachers 
during  summer  school  should  be  carried  out,  this  need  for  travel  would 
be  met,  in  part  at  least.  I  am  sure  our  work  would  be  vitalized  by  it. 

We  need  more  college  graduates  who  understand  the  underlying 
principles  of  teaching.  Almost  all  of  the  graduates  from  our  colleges 
become  teachers.  What  different  work  some  of  them  would  do  if 
their  attention  had  been  definitely  called  to  the  subject  of  how  to 
manage  a  class  successfully!  In  order  to  teach  well,  one  should  know 
the  subject  thoroughly;  but  one  may  know  that,  and  yet  fail  utterly 
as  a  teacher.  Not  only  do  many  of  our  college  graduates  teach  after 
they  have  completed  their  courses,  but  also  many  times  upper-grade 
college  students  teach  ninth-  and  tenth-grade  classes  before  gradua¬ 
tion.  This  assists  them  financially  in  getting  through  school.  When 
such  a  student-teacher  has  been  a  successful  teacher  in  the  field  and 
has  returned  to  the  college  for  advanced  work,  there  can  be  little  if 
any  reason  why  he  should  not  teach  lower-grade  classes  in  the  aca¬ 
demic  department  without  supervision;  but  when  such  a  student- 
teacher  is  younger  than  many  of  those  he  teaches,  and  in  addition 
has  no  training  aside  from  knowledge  of  the  subject,  the  work  done 
is  often  unsatisfactory.  So  long  as  college  students  are  allowed  to 
teach  classes  without  having  had  any  training  for  their  work,  and 
so  long  as  they  are  allowed  to  take  degrees  and  teach  without  train¬ 
ing,  and  so  long  as  even  advanced  normal  work  receives  only  pari 
college  credit,  our  normal  training  will  be  rated  by  college  students 
at  a  discount,  and  that  not  a  small  one.  I  do  not  say  that  our  pres¬ 
ent  advanced  normal  course  should  receive  full  college  credit;  but  it 
is  my  firm  conviction  that  such  a  course  can  be  given  that  our  colleges 
will  be  willing  to  accept  the  work  for  face  value.  The  Walla  Walla 
College  faculty,  as  well  as  the  faculties  of  other  schools,  have  been 
working  to  arrange  such  a  course  of  study  that  students  having  com¬ 
pleted  the  advanced  normal  course  can  take  two  years  more  of  college 


138 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


work  and  receive  a  degree.  I  have  talked  with  a  number  of  college 
students,  both  men  and  women,  and  the  reply  in  every  case  has  been, 
“That’s  exactly  what  I  want.”  All  of  which  strengthens  my  belief 
that  the  time  is  due  for  such  a  change. 

A  change  of  this  kind  means  that  our  work  in  methods  would  be 
revised  and  extended  to  meet  the  new  conditions.  We  need  text¬ 
books  prepared  for  the  work  in  methods.  We  need  them  very  much. 
This  work  would  be  more  general  and  of  value  to  those  students 
who  plan  to  be  college  teachers,  superintendents,  and  secretaries.  A 
study  of  the  different  systems  of  education,  especially  those  in  force 
at  the  present  time,  would  give  importance  to  Christian  education  as 
compared  to  worldly  systems.  The  strictly  professional  study  for 
the  college  student  would  increase  its  importance  to  him,  and  he  would 
be  more  willing  to  wrestle  with  the  problems  that  must  be  solved  in 
advancing  the  work  for  our  children  and  youth. 

Above  all  courses  of  study,  textbooks,  and  methods,  is  the  need 
for  complete  consecration  to  God  on  the  part  of  those  who  teach. 
In  “Counsels  to  Teachers,”  page  250,  we  read,  “Those  who  present 
matters  to  the  students  in  an  uncertain  light  are  not  fitted  for  the 
work  of  teaching.”  Every  fiber  of  our  being  must  be  given  to  the 
work  of  Christian  education.  We  must  be  so  “saturated”  and  “run¬ 
ning  over”  with  the  love  of  teaching  that  no  student  can  be  associ¬ 
ated  with  us  and  go  away  unfitted.  Our  lives  must  be  our  profession. 
When  the  two  disciples  of  Emmaus  recognized  the  risen  Christ,  they 
exclaimed,  “Did  not  our  heart  burn  within  us,  while  he  talked  with 
us  by  the  way,  and  while  he  opened  to  us  the  Scriptures?”  When 
we  get  so  close  to  Jesus  that  our  hearts  “burn  within  us”  for  his  chil¬ 
dren,  both  small  and  large,  we  shall,  with  God’s  help,  be  able  to  im¬ 
part  this  love  of  souls  to  our  students.  They  will  work  with  greater 
diligence,  and  thus  will  come  into  our  normal  work  greater  power  and 
efficiency  than  we  have  yet  known. 

DISCUSSION 

Myrta  M.  Kellogg:  To  help  the  work  along  in  our  own  union, 

I  find  it  a  good  plan  to  attend  the  institutes  which  are  held.  In  all 
our  conferences  teachers’  institutes  were  held  this  year,  and  I  attended 
as  many  as ‘I  could.  I  felt  that  it  was  helpful  to  become  acquainted 
with  the  teachers  and  to  hear  the  problems  of  the  field  discussed, 
and  also  to  become  acquainted  with  the  students  in  the  academies 
where  the  institutes  were  held.  Many  of  these  students  were  look¬ 
ing  forward  to  teaching,  and  of  course  to  entering  the  normal 
department. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


130 

In  connection  with  this  is  the  work  of  correspondence.  This 
takes  much  time,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  there  are  good  results  from 
it.  It  gives  a  chance  not  only  to  work  with  the  prospective  students 
of  the  department,  but  also  with  the  old  students,  for  they  like  to 
write  to  the  home  school  for  suggestions  and  help  in  perplexing  ques¬ 
tions.  This  we  have  tried  to  do  in  our  department,  but  are  limited  by 
time  and  expense. 

The  point  of  careful  supervision  is  one  that  seems  to  me  important, 
not  only  trying  to  direct  the  child  in  the  training  school,  which  is 
the  most  important  thing,  but  also  watching  the  teacher.  I  had 
thought  to  express  in  another  way  the  value  to  the  teacher  of  super¬ 
vision  and  direction.  I  think  it  impossible  to  direct  the  student- 
teacher  so  well  that  when  he  goes  out  he  knows  almost  everything  to 
be  done.  We  have  tried  to  make  the  teacher  feel  that  he  must  use  his 
own  initiative,  that  he  must  grow.  I  remember  hearing  a  leading 
educator  say  at  a  State  teachers’  institute  that  normal-trained  teach¬ 
ers  were  the  most  unprogressive  of  any  with  whom  he  had  come  in 
contact.  The  reason  was,  they  knew  it  all.  They  never  needed  to 
go  to  teachers’  institutes.  He  could  not  get  them  to  take  an  edu¬ 
cational  journal;  and  so  far  as  the  reading  course  was  concerned,  it 
was  almost  useless  to  mention  it  to  them,  because  they  knew  all  that 
was  in  those  books.  All  they  had  to  do  was  to  read  over  their  old 
notebooks. 

We  were  all  very  glad  when  Professor  Griggs  spoke  of  the  idea  of 
college  credits  in  his  first  address,  and  we  hope  that  something  will 
be  done.  It  seems  to  me  there  are  several  points  of  advantage,  one 
being  to  help  the  college  graduate  as  he  goes  out  to  teach,  by  giving 
him  some  instruction  which  will  aid  him  in  his  work.  It  is  often  said 
that  the  very  best  teaching  done  in  any  system  of  schools,  that  is, 
the  most  professional  or  the  most  scientific,  is  that  done  in  the  primary 
department,  and  the  poorest  work  is  that  done  in  the  college.  Per¬ 
haps  this  is  not  always  true,  but  it  is  so  often  true  that  it  shows  that 
the  college  graduate  who  goes  out  to  teach  in  a  college  ought  also  to 
have  some  special  training. 

Perhaps  we  have  all  had  the  experience  of  sitting  at  the  feet  of 
some  learned  man  who  had  more  initials  after  his  name  than  before 
it,  yet  who  was  not  able  to  teach  us  very  much,  because  he  did  not  have 
a  scientific  manner  of  presenting  the  subject.  Many  students  in 
our  schools  wish  to  take  normal  training  because  they  expect  to  teach, 
but  they  come  to  me  and  ask,  “If  I  take  it,  can  I  have  credit  for  it  on 
the  college  course?”  I  say,  “No.”  “Well,  I  cannot  afford  to  spend 
the  time;  I  must  hurry  and  get  through.”  Last  year  we  had  a  young 
woman  who  took  just  a  little  work  in  the  normal  department.  She  did 


140 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


not  do  very  good  work,  but  I  hope  she  received  some  help.  In  Sep¬ 
tember  she  came  back  and  said,  “I  find  I  cannot  get  credit  for  the 
work  I  took  in  the  normal  department,  so  I  will  take  the  college  work.” 
Of  course  she  will  come  out  expecting  to  have  a  position  somewhere. 
I  hope  she  will  do  well,  but  I  am  afraid  she  will  not. 

Some  say,  “What  is  the  use  of  taking  the  normal  work?  It  is 
not  worth  very  much.”  Of  course  it  is  not.  If  it  were,  it  would  be 
accepted  on  a  college  course.  Again  I  turn  it  this  way:  If  it  is  not 
worth  so  much  as  sortie  of  the  studies  in  the  college  course  that  are 
accepted, —  studies  which  the  spirit  of  prophecy  has  told  us  should 
be  taken  by  very  few, —  why  not  drop  the  normal  course? 

I  think  that  in  every  way  the  normal  course  can  be  strengthened 
by  this  recognition.  The  normal  department  has  been  run  in  nearly 
all  our  schools  with  but  few  students.  It  has  not  been  a  help  to  the 
schools  in  the  union  that  it  should  be.  I  do  not  know  what  the  ex¬ 
pense  of  running  it  is;  I  have  never  dared  to  ask  how  much  is  on  the 
wrong  side  of  the  account.  This  year  we  had  only  about  forty  stu¬ 
dents,  and  from  what  I  can  learn  none  of  the  schools  average  more 
than  that. 

Then  another  point:  Students  sometimes  ask,  “Has  Mr.  So-and-so 
had  a  normal  training?”  We  answer,  “No.”  The  answer  comes, 
“Well,  I  thought  he  hadn’t.”  If  he  happened  to  be  a  student-teacher, 
perhaps  a  senior  in  the  college  course,  he  might  have  been  in  financial 
need,  and  been  given  a  chance  to  teach  in  some  of  the  lower  grades. 
If  his  work  did  not  come  up  in  every  respect  to  the  standards  of  the 
normal  department,  the  students  said,  “I  do  not  see  that  it  is  very 
important  for  me  to  take  normal  work,  for  I  am  only  going  to  teach  a 
church  school  anyway.” 

Another  thing  which  has  taken  a  great  deal  of  time,  and  which 
is  being  promoted,  will,  I  think,  prove  a  source  of  strength,  and  that 
is  the  matter  of  adapting  our  work.  We  appreciate  the  textbooks 
that  have  been  prepared.  They  are  a  great  help  to  us,  making  our 
work  less  difficult,  and  giving  us  more  time.  I  was  very  glad  to  hear 
the  remarks  concerning  the  textbook  question  this  morning. 

The  lack  of  a  library  has  also  been  a  hindrance  to  us,  because  we 
have  so  very  few  books.  Some  of  the  normal  departments,  perhaps, 
have  more  than  we  have,  but  we  are  buying  more  good  books  each 
year,  and  we  find  them  a  great  advantage. 

One  thing  that  has  been  quite  a  help  to  our  department  is  the  train¬ 
ing  received  during  the  summer  school.  We  have  given  our  students 
who  were  ready  an  opportunity  to  teach  in  the  summer  school,  for 
observation,  and  to  get  some  of  their  work  there;  but  thus  far  no  one 
has  had  —  I  was  going  to  say  sand  —  enough  to  try  it.  Our  training- 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


141 


school  teacher,  however,  has  carried  this  work  on  for  three  or  four 
years,  and  every  superintendent  in  the  field  has  remarked  about  the 
advantage  it  was  to  beginning  teachers.  Those  who  take  primary 
work  are  required  to  observe  the  work  in  the  training  school.  We 
have  not  had  all  the  grades,  but  one  or  two  subjects  in  each  grade, 
and  a  diversified  program. 

On  the  spiritual  side,  we  have  had  in  connection  with  our  critic 
meetings  each  week  a  prayer  meeting,  where  we  have  received  rich 
blessings,  and  where  we  have  discussed  the  needs  of  the  work  for  chil¬ 
dren.  I  think  the  teachers  have  all  felt  that  they  have  been  a  source 
of  real  blessing. 

One  other  thing  we  have  done  was  to  organize  prayer  circles  at 
the  close  of  the  school.  Cards  were  given  to  the  teachers  to  take 
home.  On  these  cards  were  arranged  the  names  of  the  teachers,  one 
for  each  day  of  the  week;  and  on  that  day,  that  teacher  knew  that  the 
other  members  of  the  prayer  circle  would  remember  him  in  their 
prayers.  This  I  am  sure  has  been  a  source  of  strength.  We  all  felt 
that  on  this  day  a  great  many  were  united  in  prayer  for  us. 

B.  B.  Davis:  May  I  add  just  one  more  word  regarding  the  relation 
between  the  normal  school  and  the  field?  I  have  a  feeling  that  the 
training  department  of  the  college  should  be  the  headquarters  for 
every  teacher  in  the  field,  and  so  far  as  my  work  has  allowed  me  to 
do,  I  have  tried  to  get  into  correspondence  with  teachers  in  the  field. 
I  wish  1  had  more  time  to  do  this  line  of  work.  I  believe  it 
would  be  a  means  of  improving  the  work. 

F.  Griggs:  That  emphasizes  the  importance  of  allowing  the  di¬ 
rector  time  to  visit  schools  in  operation.  I  think  it  would  be  a  great 
strengthening  of  this  department  if  our  directors  could  get  away 
from  their  work  for  a  little  time,  and  visit  church  schools  in  opera¬ 
tion,  as  well  as  other  schools.  This  would  bring  back  into  the  school 
a  practical  element  that  is  missed  when  the  director  sits  within  four 
walls  all  the  time.  I  think  this  is  a  point  to  which  the  heads  of  our 
schools  should  give  attention. 

C.  A.  Russell:  I  want  to  call  attention  to  a  statement  made  by 
Miss  Kellogg,  in  regard  to  how  much  the  work  of  the  normal  director 
is  appreciated  in  the  Lake  Union  Conference.  She  has  held  a  teach¬ 
ers’  institute  in  every  conference  annually,  and  it  has  been  the  privi¬ 
lege  of  the  normal  director  to  attend  several  of  these  institutes  each 
year.  These  institutes  have  been  a  great  source  of  help  to  our  teach¬ 
ers,  and  have  tended  to  unify  the  field  and  the  department,  and  have 
undoubtedly  been  the  means  of  encouraging  other  young  people  to 
come  to  the  normal. 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


142 


In  my  room  I  have  a  letter  from  the  principal  of  the  Ypsilanti 
State  Normal  in  Michigan,  in  which  he  states  that  their  graduates 
have  no  difficulty  whatever  in  completing  the  university  course  iu 
two  years.  I  think  we  ought  to  adjust  our  work  in  a  similar  way. 

Katherine  Hale:  I  have  learned  this  spring  that  the  same  recog¬ 
nition  is  given  in  our  State.  The  registrar  at  San  Jose  says  that 
their  students  are  recognized  at  the  University  of  California,  and  also 
at  Stanford. 

I  think  the  matter  of  libraries  for  our  normal  department  is  an 
item  that  will  strengthen  the  work  very  much.  It  seems  to  me  too 
bad  to  have  so  few  books  along  professional  lines  in  our  school  library. 
Of  course  it  is  different  in  some  of  our  schools.  I  have  been  in  schools 
where  we  had  to  supply  our  own  libraries  from  our  personal  funds, 
in  order  to  have  anything  at  all.  We  ought  to  have  a  few  hundred 
dollars  put  into  the  equipment  of  a  normal  library.  So  much  should 
be  done  in  research  work.  We  cannot  expect  students  to  buy  all  the 
books  needed,  so  I  would  like  to  make  a  special  plea  for  a  library 
equipment  for  the  normal. 

M.  P.  Robison:  I  find  it  very  difficult  to  be  a  nornal  director, 
teach  all  the  subjects  in  the  department,  and  do  any  directing  besides. 
I  really  feel  that  it  is  a  very  important  lapse.  If  we  would  strengthen 
our  work,  we  should  look  toward  lightening  the  work  of  the  normal 
director,  so  that  more  attention  can  be  given  to  that  line  of  work. 

F.  Griggs:  I  referred,  in  what  I  said,  not  simply  to  the  visiting  of 
your  own  private  schools,  but  to  getting  out  into  the  field,  going  into 
other  conferences,  becoming  acquainted  with  the  conditions  that 
prevail.  I  think  that  would  go  a  long  ways  toward  making  the  nor¬ 
mal  work  practical,  and  connecting  it  with  the  field. 


STRENGTHENING  OUR  SUMMER  SCHOOLS 

MILTON  P.  ROBISON 

First  let  us  ask  the  question,  ‘‘Why  should  a  summer  school 
exist?”  There  are  several  important  reasons  for  establishing  sum¬ 
mer  schools:  — 

i.  There  are  in  every  body  of  students  those  who  are  anxious  to 
complete  their  school  work  as  early  as  possible,  and  who  are  not  com¬ 
pelled  by  circumstances  to  spend  the  summer  earning  means  to  pay 
their  next  year’s  expenses,  or  who  can  do  so  in  part  of  the  vacation 
period.  The  summer  school  makes  it  possible  for  such  to  finish  their 
college  course  at  least  one  year  sooner,  if  they  have  attended  reg¬ 
ularly. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


143 


2.  There  are  often  those  who,  because  of  illness  or  for  other  rea¬ 
sons,  fail  to  complete  certains  subjects  successfully  during  the  school 
year,  and  thus  they  fall  behind  in  their  work.  To  these  the  summer 
school  offers  an  opportunity  to  redeem  time  and  continue  their  work. 

3.  Then  there  are  those  who  have  left  school  on  graduating  from 
some  course,  or  perhaps  before,  and  have  engaged  in  some  line  of 
work,  especially  teaching;  and  who  wish  during  a  short  period  in  the 
summer,  to  take  more  work.  It  makes  no  difference  how  much  pre¬ 
vious  training  has  been  acquired,  nor  in  what  grades  the  teaching  has 
been  done,  the  teacher  as  a  rule  feels  a  desire  to  take  more  professional 
or  academic  work,  and  he  turns  to  the  summer  school. 

Each  of  these  classes  named  has  had  its  part  in  creating  a  demand 
for  a  summer  school,  but  the  last  —  the  teacher  —  is  by  far  the  best 
patron  of  the  summer  school.  In  fact,  I  feel  safe  in  saying  that  if 
the  teacher  attendance  should  be  taken  away,  the  summer  school 
would  almost  cease  to  exist. 

In  the  development  of  the  public  and  parochial  school  systems  of 
the  United  States,  superintendents  and  other  leaders  have  seen  the 
value  of  summer  school  work  for  teachers,  and  have  conducted  in¬ 
stitutes  and  summer  schools  of  various  kinds  and  lengths,  and  at¬ 
tendance  on  the  part  of  teachers  under  their  jurisdiction  has  in  many 
cases  been  made  compulsory.  These  schools  vary  from  the  short 
institute  of  a  few  days,  during  which  lectures  are  delivered  and  at  the 
close  of  which  examinations  for  certificates  are  conducted,  to  four  or 
six  weeks  or  even  eight  weeks,  in  which  definite  instruction  is  given 
from  day  to  day  in  regular  class  exercises.  These  longer  institutes 
have  gradually  taken  on  a  permanent  form,  and  have  come  to  be  our 
summer  schools. 

Where  the  school  work  is  in  a  pioneer  period  and  the  demands  for 
teachers  must  be  filled,  persons  have  necessarily  been  employed  who 
have  had  comparatively  little  preparation  for  their  work. 

One  of  the  first  needs  of  a  teacher  is  professional  training  and  a 
knowledge  of  the  common  branches,  so  our  institutes  at  first  gave  their 
whole  attention  to  these. 

Soon  it  was  evident  that  for  those  who  had  received  a  normal 
training,  or  had  come  from  summer  to  summer  to  the  institutes,  more 
advanced  work  was  needed,  and  so  academic  and  advanced  normal 
subjects  were  offered.  The  members  of  the  college  and  training  school 
faculties  were  needed  to  give  this  instruction,  and  the  training  school  is 
as  a  rule  the  best  place  to  conduct  the  work. 

Several  very  successful  attempts  have  been  made  to  hold  summer 
sessions  in  places  other  than  our  schools,  but  it  has  been  with  con¬ 
siderable  difficulty  that  proper  equipment  could  be  provided,  and 
in  some  cases  insufficient  supplies  and  materials  have  hindered. 


144 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


As  we  look  back  over  the  advance  of  our  school  work,  I  think  all 
will  agree  that  these  summer  gatherings  for  our  teachers  have  been 
one  of  the  greatest  factors  in  raising  the  standards  and  training  our 
teachers  for  greater  efficiency. 

Until  recently  these  institutes  and  summer  schools  have  been 
conducted  by  the  local  or  union  conferences,  either  through  the  su¬ 
perintendent  or  the  secretary.  We  all  feel  grateful,  I  am  sure,  for 
the  permanency  and  stability  of  the  work,  as  well  as  the  high  stand¬ 
ard  of  work  that  is  made  possible  by  having  the  summer  school  con¬ 
nected  with  our  colleges  and  training  schools. 

I  have  been  impressed,  however,  that  in  making  the  change,  we 
have  allowed  a  very  necessary  part  of  the  summer  school  to  be  lost, 
or  at  least  to  be  given  less  attention  than  it  should  receive.  I  refer 
to  the  influence  from  the  field  as  exerted  by  the  superintendents  and 
secretaries  by  their  presence  and  participation  in  the  class  work  and 
the  conduct  of  the  summer  school  work.  It  is  not  necessary  that 
these  persons  should  feel  so  completely  relieved  of  the  responsibility 
to  their  teachers  that  they  should  depend  so  fully  on  the  college  fac¬ 
ulties  to  do  the  work.  Since  the  summer  schools  are  so  largely  for 
teachers,  a  strong  influence  from  the  field  will  greatly  strengthen  the 
work,  and  the  members  of  the  school  faculty  will  welcome  it.  This 
summer,  as  the  teachers  came  in  to  our  summer  school,  I  was  there 
to  help  them  register,  and  both  the  teachers  and  I  felt  the  need  of 
the  superintendents  to  help  them  classify  in  the  best  way. 

I  would  also  suggest  that  our  summer  schools  could  be  strengthened 
by  making  provision  for  real  conference  or  round-table  periods.  Not 
only  should  the  program  provide  for  such  a  period,  but  use  it  and  use 
it  regularly. 

For  several  years  I  have  heard  at  every  summer  school  I  have 
attended,  many  requests  for  an  opportunity  to  hear  discussions  by 
fellow  teachers  of  experience. 

The  eight  weeks’  term  greatly  strengthens  the  work. 

So  also  does  the  planning  of  the  work  so  that  the  students  will  not 
attempt  too  heavy  work.  Many  times  this  has  not  been  done,  and 
poor  work  has  resulted,  and  in  many  cases  broken  health. 

Another  item  of  strength  I  might  be  bold  enough  to  suggest  is  that 
the  time  of  the  summer  school  should  not  be  broken  into  by  conven¬ 
tions  and  meetings  that  will  take  the  time  of  instructors  and  stu¬ 
dents,  and  thus  hinder  the  work. 

I  wish  to  say  in  closing  that  our  summer  schools  have  done  and  are 
doing  a  good  work,  and  that  each  year  they  are  becoming  stronger 
and  are  better  attended. 


r 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


145 


DISCUSSION 

O.  J.  Graf:  Quite  a  little  has  been  said,  not  only  in  this  paper, 
but  yesterday  and  day  before,  with  respect  to  the  college’s  appro¬ 
priating  the  summer  school.  I  suppose  there  is  some  truth  in  this, 
yet  on  the  other  hand,  I  believe  that  we  took  a  step  in  the  right  direction 
when  we  decided  to  make  our  summer  schools  permanent  and  hold 
them  at  the  colleges.  I  believe  it  lends  solidity  and  efficiency  to  have 
the  summer  school  conducted  in  connection  with  the  college.  There 
is  the  equipment  and  everything  that  is  needed  to  run  a  school.  Then, 
of  course,  there  are  the  college  teachers. 

We  have  from  fifteen  to  twenty  teachers,  I  believe,  on  our  summer 
school  faculty.  Our  plan  is  to  ask  each  conference  to  furnish  either 
one  teacher  or  fifty  dollars.  Of  course  it  is  easier  for  them  to  fur¬ 
nish  fifty  dollars  than  to  furnish  the  teacher,  because  the  teacher 
costs  more  than  that  for  six  weeks.  We  find  that  about  half  of  the 
conferences  send  teachers.  We  ask  some  to  send  the  fifty  dollars  in¬ 
stead,  for  obvious  reasons. 

The  president  of  the  union,  the  president  of  the  college,  and  the 
educational  secretary  meet  early  and  decide  who  are  wanted  for  the 
summer  school.  We  generally  have  two  or  three  workers  from  the 
field,  and  they  are  a  great  help.  They  give  us  the  field  viewpoint. 

I  believe,  as  Brother  Robison  has  said,  we  must  remember  that 
this  school  is  being  conducted  for  the  teachers,  yet  we  give  credit  for 
the  work  done  there,  and  hence  we  do  not  want  to  accept  a  teacher 
who  is  not  going  to  make  good.  We  want  one  who  will  do  work  that 
we  can  accept  in  our  college  course. 

With  respect  to  the  character  of  the  work,  we  are  settling  down 
on  the  school  basis,  rather  than  on  the  institute  basis.  But  we  must 
not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  institute  work  should  be  done.  In 
the  Lake  Union  we  are  conducting  about  a  week’s  institute  in  each 
conference  each  winter. 

This  year  we  are  looking  forward  to  a  new  departure,  in  fact  we 
have  advertised  it  in  our  summer  school  announcement, —  that  every 
afternoon  at  5:  00  o’clock,  every  teacher  who  expects  a  certificate  must 
be  present  for  an  hour  at  a  round-table  discussion.  We  will  have  a 
question-box,  and  other  things  that  will  make  the  work  very  practical. 

Three  years  ago  we  ventured  out  on  another  new  departure  which 
has  proved  very  beneficial.  We  are  conducting  a  model  school  during 
the  summer.  We  keep  our  model  school  teacher,  and  conduct  about 
three  or  four  grades.  Our  summer  school  students  who  are  taking 
methods  —  and  practically  all  of  them  take  it  —  go  over  there  and 
observe.  In  some  cases  they  may  have  the  privilege  of  doing  some 
practical  teaching. 


10 


146 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY 'VOLUNTEER 


I  should  like  to  have  a  little  discussion  on  the  question  of  a  summer 
school  covering  more  than  six  weeks.  It  seems  to  me  that  after  nine 
months  of  hard  work,  eight  weeks  is  quite  lengthy.  It  runs  into  the 
camp  meetings  at  both  ends,  and  we  are  wondering,  if  semesters  are 
adopted  instead  of  terms,  how  we  are  going  to  work  this  in.  Now 
we  make  the  six  weeks’  summer  school  equal  to  twelve  weeks;  but 
just  how  we  are  going  to  work  the  eight-week  or  nine- week  proposi¬ 
tion,  we  do  not  know.  I  wish  some  of  these  brethren  who  are  con¬ 
ducting  summer  schools  on  the  eight-week  plan  would  enlighten  us. 

H.  A.  Morrison:  On  this  question  of  the  semester  basis,  I  might 
say  that  it  is  ordinarily  true  that  in  outside  institutions,  where  they 
conduct  a  summer  school,  they  make  it  a  little  more  strenuous  than 
the  ordinary  school  work,  and  the  credit  that  is  given  perhaps  stretches 
the  time  a  little.  There  is  this  fact,  that  in  a  summer  school  of  eight 
weeks  we  do  not  have  as  much  lost  time  as  we  do  through  a  full  school 
year.  That  is,  we  are  not  delayed  by  various  vacations,  as  we  are 
through  the  year. 

We  are  carrying  our  work  so  that  eight  weeks  cover  a  semester’s 
work.  That  is  the  basis,  and  we  give  college  credits  on  that  basis. 
Everything  is  done  on  the  hour  basis,  instead  of  the  forty-five-minute 
basis.  During  the  school  year  we  conduct  forty-five-minute  recita¬ 
tions,  but  during  the  summer  school  we  conduct  one-hour  recitations. 
On  the  point  of  recitations,  it  fully  makes  up  for  the  lack  of  that  one 
week.  I  am  fully  in  favor  of  the  eight-week  plan.  If  we  had  six 
weeks,  what  could  we  do  with  our  credits  on  the  semester  plan? 

E.  C.  Kellogg:  Do  you  conduct  one  or  two  sessions? 

H.  A.  Morrison:  We  have  two  sessions  for  the  full-year  credit, 
and  only  one  session  for  the  semester  credit. 

E.  C.  Kellogg:  I  think,  in  the  matter  of  hours,  it  figures  out 
practically  all  right.  We  have  nine  months,  twenty  days  to  the 
month,  which  makes  180  days;  counting  two  hours  a  day,  this  makes 
360  hours’  work  for  the  year.  We  have  forty  days  in  the  summer 
school  of  eight  weeks,  and  counting  nine  hours  a  day  makes  360  hours, 
the  same  as  for  the  year.  We  do  exactly  as  Professor  Morrison  says. 
If  it  is  a  semester  subject,  we  have  one  one-hour  recitation,  and  if  it 
is  a  year  subject,  we  have  two  one-hour  recitations.  This  means 
the  students  must  do  nine  hours  of  solid  work  if  they  get  through. 
If  they  want  to  do  a  little  better,  they  can,  but  that  is  about  all  a  per¬ 
son  wants  to  do  in  the  summer  months. 

J.  H.  Paap:  Would  it  not  be  possible  for  a  student  beginning  the 
academic  work,  by  taking  summer  school  work  and  taking  advan¬ 
tage  of  some  other  opportunities,  to  get  his  college  degree  in  six  years, 
by  substituting  his  music  work  and  two  years  of  normal  work? 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


147 


F.  Griggs:  The  chair  would  suggest  that  it  would  so  appear.  Of 
course  there  are  many  schools  that  will  allow  four  years’  work  in 
three  years  by  taking  the  summer  school,  that  is,  college  work. 

O.  J.  Graf:  I  find  that  in  eight  weeks  of  summer  school,  one  hour 
a  day,  we  have  forty  hours  of  recitation;  while  in  a  semester  of  eighteen 
weeks,  with  forty-five-minute  recitations,  we  have  sixty-seven  and  one- 
half  hours.  That  leaves  quite  a  difference. 

F.  Griggs:  Will  the  teacher  on  mathematics  explain  this  problem? 

E.  C.  Kellogg:  I  do  not  know  wrhether  it  checks  up  exactly  with 
the  same  proportion  of  recitation  that  it  does  the  other  way.  It 
means  360  hours  of  work,  though  it  cannot  be  divided  in  the  same  way. 

M.  E.  Cady:  I  do  not  think  I  understand  the  plan  carried  out  at 
Union  College.  Did  I  understand  Professor  Morrison  correctly,  that 
in  eight  weeks  you  do  a  half  year’s  work? 

H.  A.  Morrison:  No.  In  the  majority  of  cases  the  student  takes 
two  subjects  and  has  half  a  year’s  credit  in  each  subject,  or  a  credit 
for  the  whole  year  in  one  subject.  It  is  one  fourth  of  a  school  year. 

M.  E.  Cady:  We  do  the  same  here,  only  we  spend  six  weeks  in¬ 
stead  of  eight. 

F.  Griggs:  And  you  have  a  thirty-nine  wreeks’  term  also. 

M.  E.  Cady:  I  should  like  to  know  if  that  is  not  usually  done  at 
summer  schools.  I  remember  attending  a  summer  school  at  the 
University  of  Nebraska,  and  completing  a  year’s  work  in  six  weeks, 
two  hours  a  day.  At  the  State  university  they  do  that  right  along, 
summer  after  summer.  You  can  take  chemistry  or  physics,  labora¬ 
tory  work  and  all.  Now  we  are  certainly  not  exceeding  what  is  done 
in  other  places. 

H.  A.  Morrison:  I  think  most  of  the  universities  in  our  section 
do  give  a  year’s  credit  in  this  six  weeks’  course,  but  they  are  three- 
hour  courses.  The  University  of  Nebraska  is  now  carrying  eight 
weeks,  and  gives  nine  hours’  credit.  The  University  of  Minnesota 
carries  six  weeks,  and  gives  corresponding  credit. 

N.  W.  Lawrence:  The  question  of  attendance  was  raised  bv 
Brother  Graf.  We  have  this  plan  in  the  North  Pacific  Union,  that  all 
the  graded  elementary  school-teachers  are  expected  to  be  in  the  sum¬ 
mer  school.  Their  expenses,  transportation,  and  board  are  met  by 
the  conference.  We  are  also  adding  this  suggestion,  that  they  send 
two  or  three  extra  teachers,  in  case  there  should  be  a  shortage  when 
they  come  to  fill  up  in  the  fall.  In  this  way  we  have  practically  all 
the  teachers  in  the  union. 

O.  J.  Graf:  I  wish  you  would  ask  the  different  unions  just  what 
they  do  for  their  teachers  financially. 


148 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


N.  W.  Lawrence:  The  local  conference  pays  the  transportation 
from  the  teacher’s  home  to  the  summer  school,  and  to  the  school  she 
teaches  in  the  fall.  It  pays  board  to  the  amount  of  $2  per  week. 
The  tuition  is  free,  but  the  teacher  is  expected  to  pay  for  her  own 
room  and  incidentals. 

C.  L.  Stone:  It  is  about  the  same  in  our  union,  only  I  think  the 
college  will  provide  the  room  rent,  and  the  conference  provides  for 
the  board  and  transportation.  There  is  no  tuition. 

C.  A.  Russell:  Is  there  any  work  required  of  these  teachers? 

E.  C.  Kellogg:  One  hour  a  day. 

C.  L.  Stone:  In  most  cases  I  think  two  hours  is  required. 

M.  E.  Cady:  Here  the  conference  pays  the  transportation,  and 
board  to  the  amount  of  $2  per  week.  Last  year  they  charged  a 
tuition  of  $10.  This  year,  instead  of  charging  tuition,  the  teach¬ 
ers  pay  their  own  board.  They  worked  one  hour  a  day  last  year; 
this  year  they  are  to  work  two  hours  a  day.  Last  year  we  were  ex¬ 
perimenting.  We  really  believe  that  the  best  plan  is  to  charge  tui¬ 
tion,  and  give  them  free  board.  This  year  we  have  given  them  free 
tuition  and  free  lodging,  and  they  pay  their  board. 

C.  A.  Russell:  In  the  Lake  Union  it  is  the  custom  for  the  local 
conference  to  give  free  transportation  to  the  teachers  to  and  from  the 
summer  school.  The  college  charges  no  tuition  and  no  room  rent, 
but  we  require  two  hours’  work  a  day.  The  teacher  pays  her  own 
board. 

O.  J.  Graf:  The  school  gets  the  two  hours’  work  a  day  for  the  room. 
The  conference  pays  the  transportation. 

W.  L.  Adams:  Our  conference  has  done  more  in  the  past  than  it 
will  do  in  the  future.  Last  year  it  paid  the  transportation  of  the 
teachers  to  and  from  the  school,  paid  their  board,  and  gave  them 
$2  a  week  extra,  or  $5.50  a  week,  and  they  paid  their  own  board  out 
of  it.  But  the  conference  will  not  be  able  to  do  it  this  year. 

B.  F.  Machlan:  In  the  Atlantic  Union  last  year  the  conference 
paid  the  transportation  and  gave  free  tuition.  The  teachers  found 
their  own  board  and  room. 

H.  A.  Morrison:  The  Central  Union  Conference  pays  the  trans¬ 
portation  both  ways.  It  pays  all  the  expenses  of  the  school, —  board, 
room,  and  tuition, —  except  one  dollar  a  week,  which  the  teacher 
pays,  and  he  works  one  hour  a  day.  The  Northern  Union  does  the 
same  as  the  Central  Union. 

W.  L.  Adams:  It  seems  to  me  it  would  be  a  good  thing  if  we  could 
harmonize  all  these  different  plans. 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  EFFICIENT 
SUPERINTENDENTS 


W.  E.  HOWELL 

How  can  we  develop  more  and  better  educational  superintend¬ 
ents? 

A  helpful  answer  to  this  question  demands  two  things, —  an  in¬ 
quiry  into  the  duties  of  the  superintendent,  and  a  study  of  the  best 
means  of  qualifying  for  this  very  important  office.  In  general  we 
may  truthfully  say  that  he  that  desireth  the  office  of  superintendent 
desireth  a  good  thing;  but  this  would  not  be  saying  enough  if  we  did 
not  add  that  whoso  desireth  thoroughly  to  qualify  for  the  duties  of 
this  office  before  accepting  its  responsibilities,  desireth  a  better  thing. 

If  there  has  been  one  chief  weakness  in  the  work  of  superintending 
our  elementary  schools,  it  has  grown  out  of  the  fact  that  the  office 
has  too  often  been  imposed  upon  persons  who  have  had  little  concep¬ 
tion  of  what  its  duties  involve,  and  less  preparation  to  discharge  those 
duties  satisfactorily.  When  this  has  not  been  the  case,  just  as  great 
weakness  has  resulted  from  superimposing  the  duties  of  this  office 
upon  those  holding  one  or  two  or  three  other  offices.  Manifestly  a 
man  whose  first  office  is  to  preach  the  word  from  the  public  desk,  can¬ 
not  easily  approach  efficiency  as  a  superintendent  if  he  does  justice 
to  his  preaching;  yet  out  of  sixty- two  reported  as  superintendents, 
eighteen,  or  more  than  one  fourth,  are  regular  preachers,  and  seven 
of  the  eighteen  are  conference  presidents.  Manifestly,  too,  the  at¬ 
tempts  to  fill  several  offices  well  must  result  in  weakness  characteristic 
of  energy  and  time  too  much  divided;  yet  forty  out  of  sixty-two 
superintendents  are  also  young  people’s  secretaries,  fifteen  of  the 
forty  are  Sabbath  school  secretaries  in  addition,  and  one  holds  four 
offices. 

These  statistical  facts  point  to  one  of  several  conclusions:  that  in 
more  than  one  fourth  of  our  conferences  the  superintendent  has  a 
vague  conception  of  what  his  duties  involve;  or  he  has  an  overween¬ 
ing  confidence  in  his  ability  to  do  two  or  three  men’s  work;  or  he  is 
compromising  his  time  and  energy  under  protest;  or  else  nothing  is 
doing  in  church-school  work  except  what  crops  out  spontaneously.  A 
situation  that  justifies  any  one  of  these  conclusions  leaves  the  status 
of  our  superintendent’s  work  in  a  deplorable  condition.  We  cannot 
grow  as  long  as  we  violate  the  laws  of  growth. 

With  this  general  situation  before  us,  let  us  revert  to  the  first 
demand  in  answer  to  the  question  raised  at  the  beginning;  viz.,  an 
inquiry  into  the  duties  of  the  superintendent.  Possibly  such  an  in¬ 
quiry  may  remove  the  mist  obscuring  the  responsibilities  of  the  office. 

149 


150 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


The  first  duty  of  the  superintendent  is  to  superintend,  his  second 
duty  is  to  superintend,  and  his  third  duty  is  to  superintend.  I  beg 
your  pardon,  but  this  is  not  a  meaningless  repetition  of  terms,  for  the 
superintendent’s  work,  as  I  conceive  it,  falls  into  three  general  lines. 

In  order  to  superintend,  he  must  have  something  to  superintend. 
In  order  to  make  brick,  he  must  gather  his  own  straw.  We  may 
represent  the  children  of  our  churches  as  the  raw  material,  the  mortar, 
if  you  please,  while  school  facilities  for  their  education  may  rep¬ 
resent  the  straw.  Let  no  man  or  woman  who  accepts  the  office  of 
superintendent  think  for  a  moment  that  his  sole  work  is  to  foster  the 
schools  he  finds  already  in  existence.  No,  not  less  than  one  third  of 
his  time  should  be  spent  in  working  the  virgin  soil  of  our  church  mem¬ 
bership  in  gathering  straw  to  make  new  brick.  One  half  or  more  of 
our  children  have  no  access  to  a  Christian  school.  Our  superintend¬ 
ents  constitute  the  largest  body  of  educational  officers  in  our  organ¬ 
ization.  It  is  the  body,  too,  which  stands  closest  to  the  rank  and  file 
of  our  lay  membership.  It  is  upon  these  that  we  must  depend  as  our 
advance  guard  in  educating  public  sentiment  on  the  inadequacy  of 
the  secular  school  to  meet  the  needs  of  our  young  people  and  the  needs 
of  our  denominational  work,  and  in  creating  an  appetite  for  Christian 
education  that  cannot  be  appeased  until  facilities  are  forthcoming  to 
give  our  children  the  attention  they  richly  deserve. 

The  second  main  line  of  the  superintendent’s  effort  is  to  supervise 
the  operation  of  schools  in  all  their  aspects.  This  implies:  (i)  visiting 
each  school  not  less  than  once  a  quarter  throughout  the  calendar  year; 
(2)  the  constant  study  of  school  administration,  of  books  and  material 
used,  and  of  methods  employed  in  teaching,  with  a  view  to  progres¬ 
sive  improvement;  (3)  the  keeping  of  the  schools  and  teachers  up  to 
the  standards  and  plans  adopted  by  our  general  organization. 

The  third  general  line  of  effort  in  the  superintendent’s  office  is  to 
follow  up  diligently  the  interests  of  pupils  who  have  completed  the 
elementary  work,  or  who  for  any  reason  have  dropped  out  of  school 
before  the  eight  grades  were  finished.  This  implies  earnest  effort 
to  place  certificated  pupils  in  the  intermediate  school  or  academy,  in 
the  correspondence  school,  or  in  the  way  of  earning  means  for  further 
education.  This  part  of  his  work  is  briefly  told,  but  comprehends  much. 

A  fourth  line  of  work  is  opening  up,  which  is  closely  related  to 
the  other  three  —  the  home  school.  This  is  both  preparatory  for  and 
supplementary  to  the  church  school,  and  is  so  intimately  bound  up 
with  the  welfare  of  our  homes  that  it  deserves  careful  study  and  de¬ 
velopment  by  our  superintendents.  It  is  just  as  distinctly  pointed 
out  by  the  spirit  of  prophecy  as  any  other  line  of  educational  effort, 
and  should  command  our  serious  consideration. 


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151 


With  this  general  survey  of  the  superintendent’s  work,  we  may 
turn  our  attention  to  the  main  objective  of  this  paper;  viz.,  how  to 
qualify  for  the  discharge  of  these  important  responsibilities.  The 
question  is  a  big  one,  the  answer  is  still  bigger.  From  what  is  said 
above  I  hope  it  has  been  made  plain  that  in  a  conference  of  average 
size  the  work  of  school  superintendence  is  worthy  the  full  time  and 
strength  of  one  person.  Its  scope  extends  from  the  kindergarten  age 
to  the  completion  of  the  eighth  grade,  and  in  some  cases  of  the  ninth 
and  tenth.  The  superintendent  must  break  up  new  ground,  must 
cultivate  the  growing  crop,  must  take  care  of  the  harvested  product. 
With  work  of  such  scope  and  of  such  nature,  he  must  be  allowed 
to  give  it  his  entire  attention  if  he  is  to  have  the  ghost  of  a  chance  at 
real  success.  This  is  the  first  step  toward  the  efficiency  we  are  seeking. 

The  way  was  opened  for  taking  this  step  by  the  action  of  our 
autumn  council  nearly  two  years  ago,  recommending  that  in  confer¬ 
ences  with  a  membership  of  fifteen  hundred  or  more  the  superintend¬ 
ent  give  his  full  time  to  school  work.  Out  of  nineteen  conferences 
ranging  from  fifteen  hundred  to  more  than  twenty-seven  hundred 
members  each,  only  four  now  meet  this  standard;  viz.,  Minnesota, 
Oklahoma,  Western  Oregon,  Southern  California,  having  a  teaching 
force  of  sixteen,  twenty-one,  twenty- two,  and  thirty-eight  respec¬ 
tively.  There  is  therefore  opportunity  in  fifteen  conferences  to  raise 
the  superintendent’s  efficiency  on  this  one  important  point. 

This,  however,  is  not  the  only  nor  the  most  important  factor  in 
efficiency.  Placing  the  superintendent  on  full  time  merely  creates  a 
condition  favorable  to  its  development.  There  are  two  principles  in 
administration  that  should  be  brought  to  bear  in  order  to  assure 
efficient  service.  One  is  that  when  an  office  is  to  be  filled,  careful 
inquiry  should  be  made  into  the  qualifications  required  to  fill  the  office 
acceptably.  If  the  appointing  body  is  not  in  possession  of  such  in¬ 
formation,  the  advice  of  an  expert  should  be  sought.  The  second 
principle  is  that  when  a  person  is  invited  to  take  an  office,  he  should 
make  careful  inquiry  into  the  demands  and  responsibilities  of  that 
office  before  rather  than  after  he  accepts  it.  This  is  only  good  business, 
and  superintending  church-school  work  is  exceedingly  serious  business. 

What  are  the  qualifications  required  for  efficient  superintend¬ 
ence?  Only  the  leading  ones  need  be  mentioned  here:  — 

1.  Successful  experience  in  teaching  church  school  from  five  to 
fifteen  years. 

2.  Tact  in  dealing  with  teachers,  boards,  and  school  patrons. 

3.  Ability  to  see  ahead,  to  plan  ahead,  and  to  execute  on  time. 

4.  A  keen  sense  of  order,  neatness,  taste,  and  cleanliness. 

5.  Proficiency  in  financial  management. 


152 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


6.  A  spirit  of  ready  and  faithful  cooperation  with  the  plans  of  the 
general  organization. 

7.  A  heavenly  vision  of  the  nature  and  aims  of  Christian  education, 
and  life  consecration  to  the  true  ends  to  be  gained  in  elementary  work. 

How  may  these  qualifications  be  obtained?  Answer:  By  com¬ 
pleting  the  normal  course;  by  extending  this  education  through  the 
college  course  if  possible,  either  before  or  after  beginning  to  teach; 
by  teaching  church  school  in  the  spirit  and  enthusiasm  of  a  life  work; 
by  being  progressive  and  wide-awake  in  method  and  material  gath¬ 
ered  from  every  good  source,  especially  from  the  spirit  of  prophecy 
broadly  interpreted ;  by  visiting  good  schools  and  conferring  much  with 
successful  educators;  by  leaning  hard  upon  God;  by  cultivating  the 
missionary  spirit;  and  by  utter  abandon  to  the  sacred  and  noble 
cause  of  child  education. 

On  the  negative  side  of  this  question  it  may  be  said  that  no  one 
should  be  appointed  to  the  office  of  superintendent  merely  because  he 
is  somebody’s  relative,  or  because  the  office  ought  to  be  represented 
on  the  conference  stationery  and  in  the  Year  Book,  or  to  provide  for 
some  one  who  needs  support,  or  because  it  would  cost  less  than  to 
bring  some  one  from  a  distance,  or  merely  because  the  one  proposed 
is  a  “good”  man  or  woman. 

As  a  concluding  thought  let  it  be  remarked  that  if  the  suggestions 
made  herein  are  carried  out,  it  will  result  in  placing  in  office  persons 
worthy  to  be  retained  there  long  enough  to  have  time  to  develop 
efficiency.  There  has  crept  into  the  ranks  such  a  practice  of  changing 
about  that  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  hear  the  remark  that  So-and-so 
has  been  in  this  position  for  several  years,  isn’t  it  about  time  we  had 
a  change?  Even  the  incumbent  himself  frequently  has  no  higher 
conception  of  the  seriousness  of  his  work  than  to  be  ready  for  a 
change  for  the  sake  of  change.  If  the  office  could  be  accepted  with 
the  feeling  that  decided  success  must  be  had  at  any  sacrifice  of  personal 
inclinations  and  regardless  of  the  difficulties  encountered,  a  propo¬ 
sition  to  make  a  change  would  be  taken  as  seriously  as  a  proposal 
of  marriage. 

When  we  consider  the  long  terms  of  service  rendered  by  many 
city  and  State  superintendents  of  high  repute  in  the  secular  schools, 
and  when  we  consider  the  sacred,  serious,  far-reaching  work  to  be 
done  in  the  prosecution  of  our  campaign  for  Christian  school  privileges 
for  every  Seventh-day  Adventist  boy  and  girl  in  our  ranks,  the  con¬ 
clusion  is  pressed  upon  us  that  our  conception  of  the  superintendent’s 
work  is  in  need  of  broadening  and  elevating,  and  that  when  once  the 
qualifications  for  this  sacred  office  are  attained,  an  extended  tenure 
of  position  is  indispensable  to  substantial  growth  in  efficiency. 


HOW  TO  MAKE  OUR  EDUCATIONAL  ORGANIZA¬ 
TION  MORE  EFFECTIVE  IN  THE  FIELD 


FREDERICK  GRIGGS 

Our  educational  organization  has  three  large  divisions, —  four  if 
you  count  the  General  Conference  as  one  division, —  the  North  Amer¬ 
ican  Division  Conference,  the  union  conferences,  and  the  local  con¬ 
ferences.  The  real  working  end  of  the  department  in  the  way  of  ef¬ 
fectiveness  and  efficiency  must  find  itself  in  the  local  conference.  All 
that  the  General  Conference  Educational  Department  can  do  is  to 
recommend,  and  nearly  all  that  the  union  secretary  can  do  is  to  recom¬ 
mend.  It  rests  with  the  local  conference  to  carry  out  these  recom¬ 
mendations.  We  meet  here  and  make  certain  recommendations. 
We  try  to  put  them  in  workable  shape;  but  when  it  comes  right  down 
to  the  last  analysis,  it  is  the  local  superintendent  and  the  local  teacher 
that  must  make  our  recommendations  effective.  We  can  advise,  we 
can  help,  we  can  plead,  we  can  warn,  we  can  wrestle;  but,  as  in  an 
army,  it  is  the  corporal  that  moves  the  army,  after  all. 

It  seems  to  me  that  to  make  our  work  effective  we  must  greatly 
strengthen  the  local  management.  In  the  majority  of  cases  our  su¬ 
perintendents  are  loaded  down  with  an  immense  amount  of  work 
besides  that  of  superintending.  There  are  not  many  persons  con¬ 
nected  with  our  department  who  approach  their  work  as  Miss  Gar¬ 
rett  has  outlined.  We  were  all  interested  in  her  paper  the  other 
day,  “  Magnifying  the  Office  of  the  Superintendent.”  The  plans 
which  she  suggested  were  right,  and  they  must  be  carried  out  as  far 
as  possible  by  every  local  superintendent,  no  matter  what  his  work 
may  be,  if  his  superintendency  is  effective.  But  the  difficulty  lies 
in  the  possibility  of  his  not  being  able  to  carry  out  these  plans.  I 
think  that  the  Council  should  express  itself  in  resolution  at  the  proper 
time  upon  the  importance  of  giving  the  superintendents  time  to  do 
their  work. 

Here  in  California,  it  has  been  arranged  so  that  Miss  Peck  is  super¬ 
intendent  in  two  neighboring  conferences,  instead  of  being  superin¬ 
tendent  of  education  and  secretary  of  the  young  people’s  work  in  one 
conference.  That  makes  her  work  more  efficient,  because  her  inter¬ 
ests  are  not  divided.  She  is  able  to  bring  to  every  school  and  every 
church  that  she  visits,  a  power  that  she  could  not  if  her  efforts  were 
divided.  I  grant  you  that  it  costs  a  little  more  than  if  she  were  young 
people’s  secretary  also.  She  would  perhaps  not  make  so  many  vis¬ 
its,  not  do  quite  so  much  traveling.  But  if  there  be  any  difference 
in  the  cost  of  this  arrangement,  it  is  inappreciable. 


153 


154 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


We  must  have  this  personal  work  with  our  teachers.  The  super¬ 
intendent  must  go  into  every  church  where  there  is  no  school,  and 
create  an  interest.  He  must  do  some  of  the  work  in  the  church  that 
Professor  Kern  did  while  visiting  a  certain  church  in  order  to  get  stu¬ 
dents  for  Union  College,—  sit  down  with  the  parents  and  talk  with 
them  with  reference  to  the  importance  of  educating  their  children 
in  our  schools.  Then  perhaps  he  can  help  them  to  raise  the  money, 
and  help  to  find  a  building  in  which  the  school  can  be  established. 
All  this  takes  considerable  time  when  a  church  has  little  interest,  and 
thinks  it  cannot  conduct  a  church  school;  but  the  result  is  the  salva¬ 
tion  of  the  children  there.  It  is  a  good  way  in  which  to  spend  time 
and  money. 

In  some  union  conferences  the  time  of  the  educational  secretary  is 
taken  up  with  other  duties.  He  may  be  the  principal  of  the  school, 
and  that  is  not  simply  one  duty,  but  more  than  one.  He  is  tied  to 
the  school  and  cannot  do  the  work. 

For  a  number  of  years  I  experienced  this.  At  one  time,  while 
principal  of  South  Lancaster  Academy,  besides  teaching  three  classes, 
I  held  the  following  positions:  secretary  of  the  General  Conference 
Educational  Department;  secretary  of  the  union  conference  educa¬ 
tional  department;  and  a  member  of  various  committees.  I  was  on 
the  local  conference  committee,  and  was  expected  to  keep  up  the 
interest  of  the  church-school  work  in  that  union  conference.  We 
had  no  superintendents  to  speak  of  then.  This,  of  course,  is  an  exag¬ 
gerated  case,  but  one  which  I  think  exists  somewhat  in  the  Atlantic 
union  today.  It  is  impossible  to  carry  on  successful  work  in  this  way. 
The  work  cannot  be  developed  under  such  conditions. 

The  facts  in  the  case  are,  that  the  sections  of  the  country  where 
the  secretary  and  the  superintendents  are  loaded  down  with  other 
work,  do  not  have  church  schools.  In  other  portions  of  the  country, 
where  the  officers  have  an  opportunity  to  get  into  the  field  and  do 
this  personal  work,  they  have  church  schools.  There  is  no  reason 
why  there  should  not  be  just  as  many  schools  in  the  eastern  as  in 
the  central  or  western  sections,  aside  from  the  fact  that  we  do  not 
give  men  time  enough  to  develop  and  maintain  this  interest.  To 
give  them  this  time  is  one  of  the  ways  in  which  we  may  bring  about 
an  efficient  and  effective  organization. 

Our  organization  has  always  differed  from  that  of  the  Missionary 
Volunteer  Society  in  the  work  of  the  union  secretary.  Our  union 
secretary  has  been  one  upon  whom  the  responsibility  of  his  territory 
has  rested.  We  have  not  attempted  to  have  a  general  department 
secretary  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  work  with  the  local  confer¬ 
ences.  That  is  not  saying  that  we  do  not  write  to  the  local  confer- 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


155 


ences;  we  do  carry  on  a  constant  correspondence  to  keep  ourselves 
informed;  but  at  the  same  time  we  do  not  attempt  the  separation  of 
this  work  as  the  union  conference  does.  And  I  think  the  suggestion 
made  by  Professor  Kern  for  the  work  of  the  Young  People’s  Depart¬ 
ment,  in  laying  responsibilities  upon  the  union  conference  secretaries, 
will  be  very  helpful  in  the  development  of  that  work. 

To  make  our  organization  more  effective  we  must  begin  a  campaign 
of  publicity.  And  I  think  we  ought  to  begin  it  along  this  line  in  which 
we  are  weak, —  that  of  securing  efficient  superintendents  and  secre¬ 
taries  in  local  and  union  conferences.  It  is  a  poor  way  of  spending 
money  to  neglect  the  children  that  we  have  within  our  reach. 

I  was  very  much  impressed  this  morning  by  the  way  Elder  Evans 
put  the  responsibility  upon  the  teachers  to  save  the  children.  Here 
we  have  before  us,  day  after  day,  month  after  month,  and  year  after 
year,  the  same  children,  and  the  responsibility  of  saving  them  lies 
heavy  upon  us.  The  same  thing  carries  over  into  the  work  of  the 
conference.  These  children  are  within  our  field.  They  are  members 
of  our  Christian  homes.  They  are  associated  with  the  church.  I 
think  our  great  duty  as  conferences  lies  in  saving  these  children, 
rather  than  in  letting  them  go  to  the  schools  of  the  world,  and  be  drawn 
into  the  world.  We  must  create  an  interest  on  the  part  of  our  confer¬ 
ences  so  that  it  will  be  felt  that  money  expended  for  good  superin¬ 
tendents  and  for  educational  secretaries  for  union  conferences  is  as 
profitably  spent  as  in  pioneer  work,—  sending  ministers  out  to  bring 
people  into  the  truth  who  know  it  not. 


SPIRITUAL  LIFE  OF  THE  TEACHER 

I.  H.  EVANS 

"We  all,  with  open  face  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of  the 
Lord,  are  changed  into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory,  even  as 
by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord.” 

There  is  a  reality  to  the  transformation  of  character  that  is  wrought 
by  beholding  Christ.  You  who  are  teachers  have  seen  the  wonderful 
change  wrought  in  the  youth  that  have  been  placed  in  your  charge. 
There  is  nothing  that  pleases  the  teacher  more  than  to  watch  the 
change  of  character  in  those  who  come  to  him  for  instruction.  I  think 
every  teacher  ought  to  have  a  clear  vision  of  the  purpose,  the  object, 
of  his  teaching.  The  head  of  every  school  ought  to  have  a  clear 
vision  of  the  purpose  that  he  has  in  operating  the  school.  No  man 
can  do  good  work  who  does  not  have  a  clear  vision  of  what  he  wants 
to  do. 


156 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


If  a  man  should  take  a  ship  and  start  out  to  sea,  but  not  know 
of  any  port  that  he  wished  to  make,  we  would  say  he  was  a  very  foolish 
sailor.  I  believe  every  man  who  engages  in  the  Lord’s  work  ought 
to  have  an  objective,  an  ideal  purpose,  an  aim,  and  then  all  his  energies 
ought  to  be  centered  on  the  accomplishment  of  that  purpose.  So  I 
believe  that  every  man  who  is  placed  in  charge  of  a  school,  as  well 
as  the  helpers  who  are  called  to  assist  him,  should  have  a  clear-cut 
vision  of  the  purpose  of  that  school.  What  shall  be  the  ideal  to  be 
placed  before  the  school?  Every  man’s  talent  and  ability  ought  to 
be  centralized  for  the  accomplishment  of  that  purpose.  This  makes 
a  strong,  united  faculty,  and  the  school  will  certainly  come  nearer 
to  the  goal  than  if  it  had  simply  been  operated  without  any  other 
ideal  or  objective  than  that  of  hearing  recitations,  etc. 

’Jesus  Christ  should  be  the  center  of  all  our  objectives.  He  should 
be  the  inspiration  of  the  school,  and  all  the  talent  and  ability  in  every 
school  should  centralize  its  power  upon  bringing  all  the  students  to 
believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  shape  their  lives  and  characters  like 
his.  And  with  that  objective  constantly  kept  before  the  student 
body,  it  would  be  almost  impossible  for  a  school  to  swing  very  far 
out  of  line,  and  it  would  be  almost  impossible  for  a  student  to  be  in 
that  school  and  not  receive  Christ  as  his  Saviour. 

Every  one  of  us  must  take  heed  to  his  ways,  that  we  ourselves 
do  not  miss  the  goal,  for  there  is  nothing  that  can  ever  come  to  a 
human  being  so  sad  as  to  lose  heaven  at  last.  Sometimes  our  min¬ 
isters  and  teachers  lose  the  way.  I  can  recall  in  my  short  memory 
of  forty  years’  connection  with  this  work,  many  a  noble  light  that 
once  shone  brightly  as  a  leader  in  the  educational  work,  that  has 
grown  dim,  and  many  have  gone  out  —  departed  from  the  faith. 
There  are  those,  I  suppose,  in  our  educational  work  today,  who  will 
drift  away  from  this  truth.  But  no  man  need  do  it.  There  is  no 
just  reason  why  any  one  should  do  it.  I  believe  that  men  generally 
drift  away  from  this  truth  because  they  lose  sight  of  Christ.  They 
lose  their  vision.  They  get  to  thinking  of  men  and  things,  watching 
appearances,  and  when  men  get  their  vision  centralized  on  those 
objects,  of  course,  they  will  drift  away.  But  if  a  man  keeps  his  mind 
on  Christ,  he  serves  for  Christ’s  sake.  He  does  not  serve  men,  he 
does  not  serve  a  committee;  he  is  not  afraid  of  men,  nor  is  he  afraid  of 
committees;  but  he  purposes  to  be  true  to  God,  true  to  Jesus  Christ. 
So  long  as  one  tries  to  be  like  Jesus  Christ,  it  does  not  seem  as  if  he 
could  get  very  far  out  of  the  way. 

Let  us  then,  as  heads  of  schools,  as  teachers,  as  heads  of  depart¬ 
ments,  as  helpers  in  any  capacity  in  the  schoolroom,  make  our  ideal 
that  of  imitating  Christ,  keeping  him  before  our  mind’s  eye  day  and 


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157 


night.  He  shall  be  our  pattern;  he  shall  be  the  star  toward  which 
we  aim;  he  shall  be  the  one  on  whom  we  meditate;  and  it  will  be  to 
him  and  for  his  glory  that  we  render  every  service  that  we  render 
to  this  cause.  When  a  man  does  that,  he  has  a  true  fixedness  of  pur¬ 
pose  which,  if  perchance  he  should  swerve  in  any  way,  will  bring  him 
back  into  line. 

Instead  of  looking  at  men  and  talking  about  them  and  their  weak¬ 
nesses  and  failings,  it  is  my  duty  and  my  privilege  to  keep  my  mind 
fixed  upon  Christ  all  the  time.  Then  I  have  victory  in  my  life. 
Just  as  soon  as  man  begins  to  look  at  mortal  man, —  as  soon  as  I 
begin  thinking  of  Brother  Farnsworth,  or  Brother  Graf,  or  Brother 
Morrison,  or  any  other  man, —  then,  my  friends,  I  swerve  from 
the  right  road;  for  there  is  not  a  man  in  this  world  good  enough 
for  me  to  follow.  There  is  not  a  man  in  this  world  that  is  broad 
enough  for  you  to  try  to  imitate.  There  isn’t  any  man  in  this  world 
that  is  fit  to  be  a  human  pattern.  But  Jesus  Christ  is  the  pattern 
for  us  all. 

I  well  remember  when  I  was  at  school  in  my  childhood  days, 
the  teacher  used  to  come  around  and  give  us  a  line  to  copy.  I  was 
always  glad  for  a  new  page.  I  took  great  pains  with  the  first  line, 
but  I  noticed  that  the  farther  down  on  that  page  I  got,  the  poorer 
was  my  writing.  I  was  always  impressed  with  that,  but  I  did  not 
exactly  know  why  it  was,  and  I  never  could  see  why  each  line  was 
worse  than  the  preceding.  But  when  I  got  a  little  older,  I  remembered 
very  well  that  I  used  to  take  great  pains  with  the  first  line  because 
I  looked  at  the  copy.  Then  as  I  got  farther  away,  I  copied  my  own 
work,  and  the  farther  down  I  went  the  more  and  more  careless  I 
grew,  till  all  I  thought  of  at  the  end  was  to  get  over  to  a  new  page. 

It  is  so,  my  friends,  with  men  just  as  truly  as  with  boys,  in  our 
service  for  God.  If  you  get  to  looking  at  men,  or  at  yourself, — 
for  I  hold  that  self  is  no  better  pattern  than  the  other  fellow, —  you 
become  supersensitive,  you  get  sore,  you  get  so  sensitive  that  you 
can  hardly  live  with  yourself,  everybody  is  hurting  you  and  bruis¬ 
ing  you.  But  when  a  man  looks  away  to  Christ,  these  things  dis¬ 
appear. 

I  have  never  been  able  to  find  peace  and  rest  in  my  soul  unless 
I  looked  away  from  men  to  Jesus  Christ.  In  Hebrews  12  we  have 
this  exhortation:  — 

“Wherefore  seeing  we  also  are  compassed  about  with  so  great  a 
cloud  of  witnesses,  let  us  lay  aside  every  weight,  and  the  sin  which 
doth  so  easily  beset  us,  and  let  us  run  with  patience  the  race  that 
is  set  before  us,  looking  unto  Jesus,  the  author  and  finisher  of  our 
faith;  who  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him  endured  the  crosst 


158 


EDUCATIONAL  ANI)  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


despising  the  shame,  and  is  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne 
of  God.  For  consider  him  that  endured  such  contradiction  of  sin¬ 
ners  against  himself,  lest  ye  be  weary  and  faint  in  your  minds.  Ye 
have  not  yet  resisted  unto  blood,  striving  against  sin.” 

That  is  a  wonderful  experience.  Certainly  I  have  not  entered  into 
this  suffering  with  Christ  to  the  extent  of  sweating  drops  of  blood; 
but  that  was  our  Saviour’s  experience.  And  so  we  are  all  the  time 
to  keep  our  mind  upon  Christ.  Sometimes  it  must  be  brought  back 
by  discipline,  by  meditation,  by  prayer,  by  resolve,  by  determination; 
for  if  your  mind  is  like  mine,  it  will  naturally  drift  away  from  Christ, 
and  the  things  you  are  dealing  with  will  appear  all-important.  You 
will  become  so  intense  at  times  that  it  will  seem  that  something 
must  snap.  What  you  need,  my  friends,  is  Christ. 

A  man  who  becomes  so  nervous  that  he  can  hardly  hold  himself 
in  restraint  needs  to  get  away  from  his  business  and  fretting  cares, 
and  come  to  Christ.  The  Saviour  can  do  more,  by  a  few  hours’ 
communion,  to  calm  you  and  put  your  nerves  in  trim,  than  it  would 
be  possible  for  you  to  do  by  yourself,  or  by  the  aid  of  doctors,  in 
days,  or  weeks,  or  months.  Christ  is  the  great  healer. 

I  have  stood  on  a  ship  in  a  great  storm  at  sea.  There  was  nothing 
I  enjoyed  much  more  than  to  go  up  and  look  into  the  window  where 
the  helmsman  was  standing  at  the  wheel.  I  have  seen  the  great  waves 
beat  upon  the  vessel,  and  wheel  it  around  nearly  a  quarter  point  of 
the  compass.  But  the  man  at  the  wheel  did  not  look  at  the  turning 
ship,  he  did  not  look  outside  at  all.  There  was  nothing  there  that 
would  guide  him.  But  he  had  a  compass  by  his  side.  The  needle 
pointed  directly  toward  the  magnetic  north  pole,  and  every  time 
the  ship  turned  out  of  its  course,  he  whirled  that  wheel.  There  he 
stood  every  moment  while  the  ship  was  in  peril,  and  never  let  go  of 
the  wheel.  Just  the  instant  one  man  was  relieved,  another  stepped 
right  up  to  take  his  place.  And  all  the  time  that  man  was  looking 
at  the  compass,  watching  the  needle. 

Above  him  stood  a  man,  not  only  with  a  compass,  but  with  a 
chart.  He  knew  the  road.  He  knew  everything  there  was  along 
the  highway  of  the  sea,  and  every  few  minutes  he  called  down  with 
his  megaphone  to  the  man  at  the  wheel,  telling  him  what  to  do. 

They  just  took  that  great  ship,  as  the  winds  beat  on  it  and  drove 
it  one  way  and  then  whirled  it  the  other  way,  and  they  swung  it 
back  into  line. 

Brethren,  that  is  what  you  and  I  are  for  in  the  handling  of  the  great 
work  of  this  denomination.  We  are  to  keep  it  in  the  right  road. 
We  are  to  keep  these  great  schools,  with  all  the  youth  and  children 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


159 


who  come  to  them, —  we  are  to  keep  them  in  the  great  highway  to 
the  kingdom  of  God. 

When  something  comes  into  your  school  that  seems  to  sweep  it 
away  and  whirl  it  out  of  its  course,  you  at  the  wheel  should  bring  it 
back  into  line,  with  your  eyes  fixed  on  Jesus  Christ.  I  do  not  believe, 
dear  friends,  that  the  devil  can  win  out  in  this  fight  against  the  work 
and  people  of  God  when  our  schools  are  manned  with  men  whose 
eyes  are  fixed  on  Jesus.  I  do  not  believe  that  all  of  us  together  have 
wisdom  enough  to  guide  our  schools  through  to  the  haven  if  we  lost 
sight  of  him. 

What  would  that .  poor  mariner  have  done  if  he  had  taken  his 
eye  off  that  compass?  Could  he  have  guessed  the  way?  No,  there 
never  lived  a  man  who  could  take  a  ship  from  San  Francisco  to  Yo¬ 
kohama,  through  all  the  fogs  and  other  difficulties,  and  put  it  into 
port,  if  he  did  not  keep  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  chart  and  compass. 
Our  chart  and  compass  is  Jesus  Christ.  We  must  keep  him  in  mind. 
He  must  be  the  center  of  all  our  activities,  the  inspiration  of  all  our 
endeavors. 

Conditions  may  develop  in  your  school  that  seem  to  drive  you  one 
way  and  another,  and  beat  you  back  and  forth;  but  if  your  eye  is 
to  be  fixed  yonder  on  that  Star,  if  you  hold  to  the  one  point, —  Jesus 
Christ, —  you  will  bring  your  school  through  triumphantly.  He  is  to 
be  everything  to  you.  He  is  the  point  that  you  are  aiming  for;  and 
with  that  ideal  in  your  mind,  I  do  not  believe  that  there  is  any  power 
that  can  throw  a  school  out  of  its  proper  course  and  hold  it  there  very 
long. 

Our  Saviour  was  the  great  Master  Teacher.  The  man  who  thinks 
that  he  can  conduct  a  school  properly  by  simply  having  his  mind 
well  trained,  will  miss  his  way.  You,  as  heads  of  schools,  as  men 
who  carry  the  greatest  responsibilities  as  heads  of  departments,  who 
must  come  into  close  personal  touch  with  the  students, —  you  must 
keep  this  great  Master  Teacher  in  mind.  You  should  not  try  to 
imitate  any  man  in  this  world.  You  should  not  try  to  conduct  a 
.school  like  any  other  man  in  this  world.  I  do  not  believe  any  teacher 
should  get  his  eyes  on  another  school,  and  say,  “That  school  is  suc¬ 
ceeding;  I  am  going  to  conduct  my  school  like  that  one.”  Conduct 
your  school  for  Christ,  and  keep  your  eye  on  him.  Lead  your  school 
through  with  the  experience  that  God  is  giving  you;  and  study  the 
great  Master  Teacher.  Study  his  life,  study  his  manner  of  teaching, 
study  his  personal  touch  with  men,  imitate  the  virtues  of  his  life, 
and  I  believe  you  will  become  a  great  teacher.  But  if  you  try  to 
copy  another  man,  if  you  say,  “This  man  is  a  great  leader;  he  is 
doing  well,  and  I  will  try  to  shape  my  school  like  his,”  you  will  make 


1G0 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


a  mistake,  because  you  will  not  have  the  right  pattern.  You  will 
have  only  a  man  to  pattern  after.  You  will  come  far  short  of  what 
you  would  be  if  you  took  Christ  as  your  pattern. 

On  one  occasion,  when  officers  were  sent  to  take  Jesus  and  returned 
without  him,  they  were  asked  why  they  had  not  brought  him.  The 
officers  answered,  “Never  man  spake  like  this  man.”  That  is  a 
wonderful  statement.  I  would,  my  friends,  that  you  who  are  stand¬ 
ing  at  the  head  of  these  schools,  you  who  are  responsible  for  shaping 
the  life  destiny  of  from  one  hundred  to  four  hundred  boys  and  girls, — 
O,  I  would  that  this  great  Master  Teacher  might  be  the  inspiration 
of  your  lives,  and  that  the  students  who  sit  under  your  tutorage, 
who  come  under  the  influence  of  your  life,  could  say,  as  those  people 
said  of  the  Master,  “Never  man  spake  like  this  man.” 

I  like  to  hear  the  students  say,  “Yes,  he  is  a  good  man,  strong, 
clean;  we  respect  him  and  honor  him.  We  have  profound  confidence 
in  him.”  I  believe,  dear  friends,  that  it  ought  to  be  said  of  every 
man  who  stands  at  the  head  of  a  school,  “He  is  a  man  of  God,  a  man 
whom  we  respect  and  honor.”  And  even  those  boys  and  girls  that 
you  have  to  discipline,  and  that  you  sometimes  have  to  bring  under 
conditions  that  are  painful  to  you,  when  all  is  done  in  the  spirit  of 
Christ,  with  the  love  of  Christ  burning  in  your  heart,  with  your 
heart  aching  so  that  you  would  a  hundred  times  rather  take  the  pun¬ 
ishment  than  inflict  it,  but  you  do  it  for  their  salvation  and  good, — 
I  believe  that  every  boy  who  sees  that  spirit  manifested  will  forever 
respect  that  teacher;  though  he  may  have  to  take  punishment,  he 
will  turn  around  and  call  you  blessed,  and  thank  you  for  the  interest 
that  you  have  taken  in  his  hardened  life. 

I  know  that  you  do  not  always  see  such  results.  Sometimes 
you  do  not  find  these  boys  and  girls  grateful  to  you  because  of  this 
discipline;  but,  my  friends,  if  you  will  pray  for  that  boy  or  girl,  you 
can  do  ten  times  more  than  you  can  by  scolding  or  by  public  rep¬ 
rimand.  Whatever  you  do,  never  lose  your  control,  and  never 
get  your  eye  off  from  Christ.  It  helps  wonderfully,  marvelously.  I 
believe,  brethren,  that  every  endeavor  we  put  forth  should  be  to  save, 
not  to  drive  away  from  Christ. 

In  my  ministerial  work,  I  have  always  made  it  a  principle  never* 
to  be  a  party  to  an  attempt  to  drive  a  man  out  of  the  church;  and  I 
thank  God  that  in  all  my  ministry  I  have  only  once  helped  to  dismiss 
a  man  from  the  church.  I  believe  in  saving  men;  I  believe  in  looking 
into  their  eyes  and  talking  to  them  with  all  earnestness  as  to  a  soul 
that  is  hanging  in  the  balance. 

I  remember  when  I  was  a  young  man,  I  had  an  experience  of  this 
kind.  I  was  sent  bv  the  conference  committee  to  meet  with  a  church 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


lfil 

and  fix  up  some  matters.  I  was  a  licentiate,  and  did  not  know  very 
much  about  conference  work,  but  the  conference  had  asked  me  to  go 
to  this  church,  where  there  was  a  brother  who  had  given  up  the' Sab¬ 
bath,  and  had  not  been  coming  to  church  for  a  long  time.  We  were 
to  turn  him  out  of  the  church.  I  asked  him  to  come  to  the  meeting, 
and  when  he  got  into  the  church,  he  sat  down  on  my  left,  where  I 
could  look  into  his  face.  I  knew  that  that  man  had  to  be  saved,  or 
dismissed  from  the  church  because  of  his  Sabbath  breaking. 

I  stood  there,  a  young  man  without  much  experience;  and  as 
I  saw  Christ  hanging  on  the  cross  and  dying  for  that  man,  I  looked 
into  his  face  with  tears  streaming  from  my  eyes,  and  I  pleaded  with 
him  to  yield  to  God.  That  poor  man  finally  began  to  weep,  then  he 
got  down  and  prayed  to  God,  and  we  all  prayed,  and  that  dear  man 
is  a  Sabbath  keeper  to  this  day,  on  his  way  to  the  kingdom.  I  believe 
that  was  better  than  to  turn  him  out  of  the  church.  All  the  aim 
and  all  the  endeavor  of  every  one  of  us  should  be  to  save  men,  to* 
save  them  for  the  kingdom  of  God.  That  is  our  purpose;  that  is 
why  our  schools  are  operated;  that  is  what  you  teachers  are  for, — 
to  train  men  for  the  kingdom  of  God.  Brethren,  if  we  could  once 
get  that  burning  passion  in  our  souls,  we  would  have  mighty  power 
in  saving  our  young  people. 

I  do  not  say  you  can  save  everybody;  I  would  not  leave  that 
impression;  but  I  believe  that  many  are  lost  who  could  be  saved 
if  there  were  sufficient  soul  agony,  sufficient  suffering,  sufficient 
prayer,  sufficient  fasting,  and  an  appreciation  of  what  a  soul  is  worth 
in  the  sight  of  heaven.  I  believe  it  is  your  privilege  to  organize  a 
working  force  in  your  schools  to  surround  the  wayward  and  those 
who  are  not  Christians  with  earnest  prayer  and  such  hallowed,  sacred 
influences  that  it  will  be  almost  impossible  for  them  to  come  under 
those  influences  and  not  accept  Christ. 

When  this  spirit  gets  hold  of  a  faculty,  when  this  spirit  burns  in 
the  hearts  of  the  managers  of  the  school,  when  they  would  rather 
give  up  their  lives  than  to  see  their  pupils  refuse  Christ,  then  there 
will  be  a  mighty  conversion  in  that  school. 

No  man  can  ever  lead  souls  to  Christ  in  any  definite,  marked  way 
until  there  is  in  his  own  heart  a  burning  passion  for  them.  He  has 
got  to  suffer,  he  has  got  to  be  in  travail;  for  when  Zion  travailed,  she 
brought  forth  children.  Men  are  not  born  into  the  kingdom  of  God 
by  logic.  Men  are  not  born  into  the  kingdom  of  God  by  the  will  ot 
men,  but  there  must  be  in  our  souls  a  supreme  desire  to  bring  them 
to  Christ,  and  then  I  believe  by  prayer  and  by  united,  earnest  effort, 
very  much  can  be  done  for  God. 

But  I  must  not  dwell  longer  on  this.  I  believe,  dear  friends,  that 
11 


162 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


in  all  our  teaching  we  should  continually  keep  it  in  mind  that  souls 
must  be  saved.  I  cannot  get  away  from  that.  To  me  it  seems  to 
be  the  supreme  education.  I  cannot  think  of  anything  else  that  will 
ever  take  its  place.  You  may  talk  to  me  about  mathematics,  or 
science,  or  literature,  or  what  you  like,  and  say  it  is  everything. 
Brethren,  there  isn’t  anything  that  is  everything  but  Christ  Jesus. 
When  a  man  has  Him,  he  has  everything. 

You  can  have  everything  in  this  world  if  you  will  give  me  Christ 
and  heaven  and  glory,  because  everything  that  is  here  will  perish; 
but  when  you  give  me  Christ  and  fit  me  for  glory,  then  I  shall  have 
an  opportunity  to  go  to  school  there.  I  shall  have,  not  simply  five 
or  ten  years,  but  I  shall  have  the  measure  of  the  eternal  ages,  and 
that  will  be  university  enough  for  me.  If  I  can  get  to  heaven,  and 
have  a  million  years  to  study  with  God  and  Christ  and  angels,  and 
visit  not  simply  this  earth,  redeemed  from  the  curse,  but  visit  the  great 
starry  heavens,  that  will  be  school,  brethren.  I  believe  with  all  my 
heart  that  Sister  White  is  right  when  she  says  that  the  great  sum  of 
education  is  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  to  the  saving  of  the  soul. 

So  I  say,  Let  us  bring  ourselves  into  line.  Let  us  never  think 
that  schooling,  degrees,  the  mastering  of  the  sciences,  is  everything. 
I  want  that,  but,  oh,  I  want  it  under  the  hallowed  influence  of  Jesus 
Christ  and  the  Holy  Spirit. 

I  must  read  just  a  few  statements  that  I  have  here  upon  this 
very  thought:  — 

“In  the  Teacher  sent  from  God  all  true  educational  work  finds 
its  center.  Of  this  work  today,  as  verily  as  of  the  work  he  established 
eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  the  Saviour  speaks  in  the  words,  ‘  I  am 
the  first  and  the  last,  and  the  Living  One.  ’  ‘  I  am  the  Alpha  and 

the  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end.’ 

“In  the  presence  of  such  a  Teacher,  with  such  opportunity  for 
divine  education,  what  worse  than  folly  is  it  to  seek  an  education 
apart  from  him, —  to  seek  to  be  wise  apart  from  Wisdom;  to  be  true 
while  rejecting  Truth;  to  seek  illumination  apart  from  Light,  and 
existence  without  the  Life;  to  turn  from  the  Fountain  of  living  waters, 
and  hew  out  broken  cisterns,  that  can  hold  no  water!” — “ Education ,” 
page  83. 

“Dear  teacher,  as  you  consider  your  need  of  strength  and  guid¬ 
ance, —  need  that  no  human  source  can  supply, —  I  bid  you  consider 
the  promises  of  him  who  is  the  wonderful  Counselor.  ‘  Behold, ' 
he  says,  ‘  I  have  set  before  thee  an  open  door,  and  no  man  can  shut 
it.’  ‘Call  unto  me,  and  I  will  answer  thee.’  ‘I  will  instruct  thee 
and  teach  thee  in  the  way  which  thou  shalt  go:  I  will  guide  thee  with 
mine  eye.’  ‘Even  unto  the  end  of  the  world,’  ‘I  am  with  you.’ 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


16:? 

“As  the  highest  preparation  for  your  work,  I  point  you  to  the 
words,  the  life,  the  methods,  of  the  Prince  of  teachers.” — Id .,  page 
282. 

This  is  the  highest  preparation  for  your  work,  to  look  to  the 
Prince  of  teachers.  I  do  not  point  you  to  the  universities  to  get 
their  degrees,  I  do  not  say  you  must  do  this  or  that,  but  “I  point 
you  to  the  words,  the  life,  the  methods,  of  the  Prince  of  teachers. 
I  bid  you  consider  him.  Here  is  your  true  ideal.  Behold  it,  dwell 
upon  it,  until  the  Spirit  of  the  divine  Teacher  shall  take  possession 
of  your  heart  and  life.  ‘Reflecting  as  a  mirror  the  glory  of  the  Lord,' 
you  will  be  ‘transformed  into  the  same  image.’” — Ibid. 

On  pages  249,  250,  of  “Counsels  to  Teachers,”  I  find  a  statement 
like  this  from  Sister  White  right  on  this  point:  — 

“The  work  of  educating  our  youth  as  outlined  for  us  in  the  in¬ 
struction  given  by  God,  is  to  be  sacredly  maintained.  We  must 
choose  as  teachers  those  who  will  educate  in  right  lines.  Said  my 
Instructor:  ‘Let  not  teachers  be  chosen  to  educate  and  train  the 
youth  who  will  not  maintain  the  simplicity  of  Christ’s  methods. 
His  teachings  contain  the  very  essence  of  sanctified  simplicity.’ 
Those  who  present  matters  to  the  students  in  an  uncertain  light 
are  not  fitted  for  the  work  of  teaching.” 

I  think,  brethren,  that  this  instruction  ought  to  be  especially 
applied  to  Bible  teaching,  that  no  man  ought  to  be  a  Bible  instructor 
in  our  schools  who  does  not  know  whether  he  believes,  or  does  not 
believe,  the  third  angel’s  message.  The  students  ought  not  to  be 
left  in  doubt  as  to  where  the  teacher  stands;  for  just  as  surely  as  you 
leave  a  student  in  doubt,  then  he  begins  to  question  not  merely  the 
point  that  is  questioned,  but  other  things  as  well.  Therefore  I 
believe  in  having  teachers  in  our  schools  who  believe  the  third  angel’s 
message. 

Another  thing:  it  seems  to  me  unfortunate,  but  it  may  be  the  only 
thing  you  can  do,  to  have  one  or  two  men  do  all  the  Bible  teaching 
in  the  school.  I  believe  that  every  teacher  ought  to  be  a  Bible  teacher, 
that  the  teacher  in  mathematics,  in  language,  in  science,  ought  to 
be  all  the  time  dealing  with  sacred  things. 

“No  man  is  qualified  for  this  work  unless  he  is  daily  learning 
to  speak  the  words  of  the  Teacher  sent  from  God.  Now  is  the  time 
to  sow  the  gospel  seed.  The  seed  we  sow  must  be  that  which  will 
produce  the  choicest  fruit.  We  have  no  time  to  lose.  The  work 
of  our  schools  is  to  become  more  and  more  in  character  like  the  work 
of  Christ.  Only  the  power  of  the  grace  of  God  working  on  human 
hearts  and  minds  will  make  and  keep  the  atmosphere  of  our  schools 
and  churches  clean. 


164 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


“There  have  been  teachers  in  our  schools  who  could  pass  well 
in  a  worldly  institution  of  learning,  but  who  were  unfitted  for  the 
training  of  youth  because  they  were  ignorant  of  the  truths  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ.  They  were  unable  to  bring  the  simplicity  of  Christ 
into  their  labors.  It  should  be  the  work  of  every  teacher  to  make 
prominent  those  truths  that  have  called  us  out  to  stand  as  a  peculiar 
people  before  the  world,  and  which  are  able  to  keep  us  in  harmony 
with  heaven’s  laws.” — “ Counsels  to  Teachers ,”  page  250. 

It  does  not  say  that  the  Bible  teacher  is  to  be  the  only  one  to  do 
that,  but  here  it  takes  in  all  the  teachers.  I  do  not  know  why  a 
man  should  be  put  in  the  science  department  who  does  not  believe 
half  of  the  third  angel’s  message.  I  do  not  know  why  a  man  should 
be  called  as  head  of  the  mathematics  department  who  does  not  believe 
this  truth,  simply  because  he  can  teach  mathematics.  I  think  every 
member  of  the  faculty  ought  to  be  called  there  because  he  is  a  firm 
believer  in  the  third  angel’s  message.  He  ought  to  be  thoroughly 
indoctrinated  on  every  point  in  this  message.  I  do  not  see  how  we 
can  ever  expect  to  prosper  if  we  invite  men  to  take  positions  as  heads 
of  departments  in  our  schools  when  they  are  not  in  harmony  with 
the  third  angel’s  message.  I  should  rather  have  far  less  ability 
with  a  deeper  Christian  experience  and  more  faith  in  this  work, 
than  to  have  the  highest  ability  trained  in  the  best  schools  of  the 
world,  without  a  belief  in  the  message. 

“In  the  messages  that  have  been  sent  us  from  time  to  time,  we 
have  truths  that  will  accomplish  a  wonderful  work  of  reform  in  our 
characters  if  we  will  give  them  place.  They  will  prepare  us  for 
entrance  into  the  city  of  God.  It  is  our  privilege  to  make  contin¬ 
ual  advancement  to  a  higher  grade  of  Christian  living.” —  Ibid. 


I  want  to  bear  testimony  that  I  have  never  been  in  a  council 
meeting  in  my  life  that  has  given  me  such  supreme  satisfaction  as 
this.  I  have  never  seen  men  line  up  more  thoroughly  and  seemingly 
with  more  sincerity  to  reach  the  goal,  than  those  who  compose  this 
Council  of  teachers.  I  would  not  have  missed  being  with  you  for 
anything;  for  it  has  given  me  great  joy  to  see  you,  though  bearing 
such  heavy  responsibilities  and  burdens,  with  their  many  perplex¬ 
ities,  aiming  with  all  the  strength  that  is  in  you  to  reach  this  desired 
goal. 


THE  PLACE  OF  OUR  AMERICAN  FOREIGN  SEM¬ 
INARIES  IN  OUR  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM 


M.  L.  ANDREASEN 

Principal  Danish- Norwegian  Seminary 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remind  this  body  of  educators  of  the 
fact  that  for  a  number  of  years  this  country  has  received  into  its  bosom 
more  than  a  million  immigrants  a  year.  These  people  have  come 
from  almost  all  countries  of  the  earth  to  share  the  temporal  blessings 
which  God  in  great  abundance  has  showered  upon  America. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  truth  which  we  hold  dear,  this  immi¬ 
gration  presents  wonderful  opportunities.  We  cannot  believe  that 
the  only  reason  —  or  indeed  the  chief  reason  —  why  these  countless 
multitudes  have  come  to  our  shores  is  the  desire  to  better  their  finan¬ 
cial  condition.  No  true  believer  has  or  can  have  any  other  thought 
than  that  in  the  plan  of  God  these  people  have  been  sent  here  that 
they  may  learn  the  truth  for  this  time.  The  desire  for  temporal 
advantage  which  in  many  cases  is  their  chief  motive  in  coming,  was 
intended  by  God  to  be  only  a  means  of  bringing  them  here. 

It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  at  this  time  the  eyes  and  hearts 
of  millions  in  Europe  are  turned  to  America,  hoping  and  praying 
that  in  some  way  this  country  may  make  its  voice  heard  to  stop  the 
awful  carnage  now  going  on.  Whole  countries,  as  Belgium,  Serbia, 
and  Poland,  are  dependent  on  American  generosity  for  their  daily 
bread.  America  is  to  them  their  hope.  And  in  the  hearts  of  millions 
of  mothers  in  these  stricken  countries  the  prayer  is  daily  ascending 
that  God  will  spare  their  little  ones,  that  in  some  manner  the  way  may 
open  for  them  to  escape  the  fate  of  the  millions  of  young  men  already 
dead  on  the  battle-field,  a  fate  which  surely  awaits  them  as  soon  as 
they  are  old  enough  to  bear  arms.  Their  only  hope  seems  to  be  to 
escape  to  America. 

And  so  millions  have  come  and  many  more  millions  are  coming 
to  this  country.  The  eyes  of  the  world  are  turned  to  the  United  States 
with  a  mute  appeal  for  help.  Shall  we,  to  whom  God  has  given  this 
wonderful  truth,  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  this  appeal?  or  shall  we  be  true  to 
the  call  of  God,  and  do  all  we  can  to  enlighten  these  millions  with  the 
important  message  for  these  times? 

If  we  admit  our  responsibility  toward  the  millions  of  foreigners 
coming  to  our  shores,  the  next  question  to  engage  our  attention  is 
how  far  this  responsibility  goes.  If  it  were  possible  to  reach  these 
multitudes  through  the  English  language,  the  problem  would  present 
no  unusual  difficulties.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  most  of  these 
people,  if  reached  at  all,  must  be  reached  through  their  mother  tongue. 

1 65 


166 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Many  of  them  never  learn  the  English  language,  a  goodly  number 
learn  only  enough  for  ordinary  business  purposes,  but  their  heart  and 
home  language,  the  language  of  their  thought  and  religion,  remains 
their  mother  tongue.  Many  of  these  people  cannot  conceive  of  true 
religion  being  possible,  or  if  possible,  of  being  capable  of  expression, 
in  any  other  language  than  their  own.  With  a  peculiar  force  do  the 
expressions  which  they  learned  in  childhood  at  mother’s  knee  seize 
them  as  they  in  a  strange  land  hear  the  well-known  words  repeated. 
They  may  have  strayed  far  from  the  path  of  rectitude,  but  an  appeal 
to  them  in  their  mother  tongue  leaves  an  impression  not  easily  effaced. 
No  other  language  contains  —  for  them  —  the  beauty  of  expression 
or  heart  appeal  as  does  their  own.  And  this  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at.  An  American  in  a  strange  land  would  probably  feel  the  same. 

It  remains,  therefore,  that  if  we  are  to  be  successful  in  helping 
these  foreigners,  some  one  must  learn  the  language  of  these  nation¬ 
alities,  or  better  still,  a  sufficient  number  of  those  who  have  already  a 
working  knowledge  of  these  languages  should  be  encouraged  to  work 
for  their  own  nationality.  But  to  do  this  work  successfully,  schools 
are  required  where  these  languages  may  be  learned.  These  schools 
must  be  of  no  secondary  order,  where  work  of  an  inferior  character 
is  done.  These  foreigners  are  not  all  uneducated.  Indeed,  if  we  com¬ 
pare  the  education  of  the  priests  and  ministers  of  foreign  nationalities 
whom  our  workers  in  these  languages  must  meet,  with  the  education 
which  our  workers  generally  receive,  we  do  not  find  the  comparison 
unfavorable  to  the  foreigners.  On  the  contrary,  we  find  the  educa¬ 
tional  standard  of  these  foreigners  in  many  cases  much  higher  than 
any  standard  we  have  as  yet  set  or  probably  could  set.  To  meet 
these  men  successfully  requires  no  mean  order  of  intelligence.  It 
will  not  do  to  send  out  men  who  do  not  know  their  mother  tongue 

and  who  make  too  many  grammatical  errors.  Correct  use  of  language 

covers  a  multitude  of  educational  sins  and  shortcomings.  The  study 
of  the  mother  language  must  always  be  considered  of  first  importance. 

This  is  as  true  of  the  foreign  language  as  of  the  English.  If  we 
are  to  make  a  success  of  our  foreign  work,  we  must  have  men  who 

are  acquainted  with  the  language  in  which  they  are  to  work.  This 

proficiency  in  a  language  cannot  be  gained  by  merely  studying  it  in 
the  classroom.  To  be  able  to  use  it  efficiently  the  student  must 
speak  it  daily,  he  must  hear  it  spoken,  he  must  be  surrounded  by  an 
influence  favorable  to  acquirement  of  the  language.  This  cannot  be 
done  in  our  English  schools  as  successfully  as  in  separate  schools 
established  for  the  purpose.  For  this  reason  the  German,  the 
Swedish,  and  the  Danish-Norwegian  Seminaries  have  been  estab¬ 
lished. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


167 


In  establishing  these  schools  this  denomination  recognizes  its  duty 
to  educate  workers  to  labor  for  the  foreign  nationalities.  This  is  by 
no  means  an  easy  task.  The  allurement  of  the  English  work  is  ever 
before  the  young  people.  To  them  it  seems  much  easier  to  go  into 
a  place,  pitch  a  tent,  distribute  handbills,  and  in  the  evening  speak  to 
a  large  congregation  of  interested  hearers,  than  to  go  into  the  same 
town  and  call  from  house  to  house,  seeking  some  certain  nationality, 
meeting  opposition,  hearing  jeering  taunts  of  “dago,”  “squarehead,” 
or  the  like.  The  foreign  work  is  a  smaller,  harder,  less  attractive  work, 
but  a  work  which  some  one  must  do,  and  which  should  have  all  rea¬ 
sonable  encouragement. 

In  an  English  school  where  there  is  also  a  foreign  department 
there  is  a  daily  contrast  between  the  two  languages.  The  English 
department  is,  of  course,  the  larger.  The  foreign  department,  because 
of  its  very  size,  is  inferior.  Under  these  circumstances  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  imbue  the  students  with  the  thought  that  the  foreign 
work  —  their  own  work  —  is  the  great  work,  the  important  work, 
the  glorious  work.  The  argument  is  all  on  the  other  side.  On  the 
contrary,  in  a  school  where  the  special  object,  the  whole  aim,  is  to 
create  a  love  for  the  foreign  work,  where  every  lesson  taught,  every 
sermon  preached,  has  this  thought  as  a  basis,  it  is  much  easier  to  imbue 
the  student  with  the  same  spirit  and  with  a  deep  love  for  the  foreign 
work  —  for  the  millions  of  neglected  and  often  passed-by  foreigners. 
And  without  this  deep  love  for  the  foreigners  the  work  will  be  a  fail¬ 
ure.  Unless  the  student  has  a  sincere  interest  in  and  love  for  the 
nationality  for  which  he  is  working,  he  will  soon  leave  the  apparently 
barren  fields  of  the  foreign  work  in  America,  and  turn  to  the  more 
inviting  and  pleasant  fields  of  the  English  work.  And  in  turning  to 
the  English  work  he  has  often  had  too  much  encouragement.  Yet 
the  foreign  work  is  far  from  being  an  unfruitful  field. 

In  the  management  of  these  schools  great  care  is  needed.  While 
a  love  for  the  foreign  work  should  be  inculcated  and  encouraged,  no 
foreign  spirit  should  be  tolerated.  The  work  is  one.  Unity  must  be 
preserved.  There  must  be  no  drawing  apart,  no  building  up  of  sepa¬ 
rate  interests.  Thorough  instruction  should  be  given  in  the  mother 
tongue,  but  this  must  not  be  done  to  the  exclusion  of  the  English  lan¬ 
guage.  The  history  of  the  fatherland  should  be  studied,  but  Amer¬ 
ican  history  must  not  be  neglected.  Love  of  the  mother  country 
and  respect  for  it  should  be  encouraged,  but  love  for  the  adopted 
country  and  respect  for  its  institutions  must  come  first.  A  strong 
spirit  of  love  for  the  foreign  work  should  prevail,  but  this  love  must 
never  become  partisan  or  national.  Ever  must  be  held  before  the 
student  the  great  fact  that  the  work  of  the  Lord  is  one.  No  national 


168 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


barrier  must  be  raised  to  separate  those  who  are  to  be  one  in 
Christ. 

Our  American  foreign  seminaries  should  not  cater  to  nor  accept 
American  students.  They  have  a  distinct  work  to  do,  and  should 
be  left  free  to  do  this  work.  Their  field  is  the  families  and  churches 
of  their  respective  nationalities,  regardless  of  conference  lines.  They 
should  conscientiously  keep  away  from  American  churches  and  Amer¬ 
ican  families  in  their  endeavor  to  secure  students;  but  wherever  fam¬ 
ilies  or  churches  of  their  respective  nationality  are  found,  there  is 
their  legitimate  field,  and  to  these  families  and  churches  they  should 
have  undisputed  access.  Thus,  and  thus  only,  can  the  work  for  the 
foreign  people  in  America  be  made  a  success. 

What,  then,  is  the  place  of  our  American  foreign  seminaries  in 
our  educational  system?  Their  place  is  to  supplement  and  complete 
the  system  of  education  given  to  this  people.  They  do  a  work  which 
our  American  schools,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  cannot  do.  As 
surely  as  the  educational  work  has  a  place  in  this  message,  so  surely 
have  the  American  foreign  schools  a  place  in  the  educational  system. 
The  one  without  the  other  is  not  complete;  together  they  form  a 
complete  and  harmonious  whole. 

As  mentioned  before  in  this  paper,  the  task  given  these  foreign 
seminaries  is  not  an  easy  one.  All  reasonable  encouragement  should 
be  given  them,  and  wherever  students  are  found  that  rightfully  belong 
to  these  seminaries,  they  should  be  encouraged  to  attend  them.  In 
these  matters  our  American  brethren  can  greatly  aid  us. 

As  representatives  of  these  foreign  seminaries,  we  pledge  our  hearty 
cooperation  and  support  in  every  good  word  and  work.  With  you, 
as  Americans,  we  want  to  stand  as  loyal  subjects  of  the  Most  High, 
loyal  to  this  message,  who,  while  given  a  special  work  to  do,  will  ever 
remain  faithful  to  the  unity  of  the  work,  holding  aloft  the  banner  of 
present  truth,  praying  the  God  of  all  mercy  to  speed  the  day  when  the 
work  shall  be  done,  and  we  all  with  one  voice  and  one  tongue  shall 
hail  Him  for  whom  we  have  waited  and  who  will  save  us. 


THE  PERSONAL  TOUCH  IN  TEACHING 


I.  H.  EVANS 

There  is  no  question  of  such  vital  importance  to  us  as  the  spirit¬ 
ual  life  of  our  teachers.  There  is  more  importance  attached  to  this 
than  to  all  other  qualifications.  I  was  deeply  impressed  with  this 
statement  in  “Counsels  to  Teachers,”  page  206:  “What  influence  do 
you  think  it  would  have  to  publish  in  your  announcement  of  the  school 
that  you  will  endeavor  to  give  the  students  a  training  that  will  prepare 
them  for  the  future,  immortal  life,  because  you  desire  to  see  them  live 
throughout  the  ceaseless  ages  of  eternity?” 

That  would  be  a  peculiar  thing  to  put  in  a  calendar,  no  doubt. 
It  would  certainly  be  a  striking  announcement  to  send  out  to  our  breth¬ 
ren  everywhere,  in  your  calendars,  that  the  school  you  are  conduct¬ 
ing  has  the  supreme  purpose  of  training  boys  and  girls  for  eternal  life. 

When  we  think  that  our  work  is  to  mold  the  character,  not  simply 
to  teach  a  lesson  in  mathematics,  or  in  grammar,  or  in  rhetoric,  or  in 
some  other  science;  but  that  while  we  teach  our  whole  supreme  pur¬ 
pose  is  to  shape  and  mold  the  character  for  eternity,  we  certainly  face 
a  great  responsibility. 

I  can  conceive  of  a  man’s  going  into  his  classroom  from  almost  any 
condition  in  his  family  or  the  home;  if  he  is  to  teach  a  lesson  in  arith¬ 
metic,  or  geometry,  or  algebra,  he  surely  must  know  the  lesson,  he 
must  be  able  to  work  the  propositions  and  to  impart  information. 
If  that  is  all  there  is  to  it,  then  of  course  that  which  I  am  going  to  say 
this  morning  would  not  have  very  much  bearing,  because  we  see  that 
worldly  men  and  infidels,  men  who  do  not  believe  in  the  Word  of 
God,  are  splendid  teachers  as  far  as  science  goes.  They  are  good 
language  teachers,  they  are  thorough  mathematicians.  They  have 
ability  to  teach  and  instruct  according  to  the  standards  of  the  world. 
But  when  a  man  takes  the  additional  responsibility,  not  only  of  im¬ 
parting  information  and  directing  the  mind,  but  also  of  shaping  and 
molding  the  character,  he  will  never  be  satisfied  with  his  work  until 
he  leads  that  boy  or  girl  whom  he  is  teaching,  to  Jesus  Christ.  He 
has  an  entirely  different  proposition  on  his  hands  than  if  he  had  elimi¬ 
nated  this  idea  of  character  molding  and  shaping.  He  can  never  do 
this  other  work  until  he  has  had  a  preparation  of  heart  himself;  for 
a  man  cannot  teach  theoretical  religion. 

Some  teach  Bible  doctrine  without  a  Christian  experience,  but 
a  man  cannot  possibly  teach  how  to  get  victory  over  sin,  how  to  put 
away  the  weaknesses  of  the  flesh,  until  he  himself  has  been  a  learner 
in  the  school  of  Christ.  We  may  theorize  on  it,  but  our  words  are 

169 


170 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


like  sounding  brass,  they  do  not  take  effect.  They  are  like  a  tinkling 
cymbal,  like  a  noise,  but  they  do  not  reach  the  heart. 

Therefore  I  believe  it  is  as  essential  that  a  teacher  have  a  heart 
preparation  every  day  as  he  goes  to  his  class,  as  it  is  that  the 
minister  have  a  heart  preparation  when  he  stands  before  his  congre¬ 
gation  to  preach.  Why?  —  Because  the  teacher  has  taken  upon 
himself  the  responsibility  to  prepare  men  and  women  to  live  with  God. 
While  you  are  teaching  science,  and  language,  and  art,  and  literature, 
you  have  an  additional  responsibility  back  of  it  all.  You  have  a  pur¬ 
pose,  a  design,  maybe  not  always  announced,  perhaps  not  always 
proclaimed,  but  it  is  never  out  of  your  mind.  Never  once  can  the 
true  teacher  stand  before  his  class  without  that  supreme  purpose 
being  in  his  heart  to  do  something,  to  say  something,  to  add  some¬ 
thing  to  the  lesson  which  he  has  prepared,  that  will  turn  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  the  child  from  merely  the  lesson  itself  to  the  higher  ideal,  and 
that  is  to  find  the  kingdom  of  God  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 

With  that  ideal  in  the  mind  of  the  teacher,  I  hold  that  he  can 
never  appear  before  his  class  qualified  to  teach  without  having  fed 
his  own  heart  in  communion  with  God.  I  want  to  mention  three 
things  that  are,  to  my  mind,  of  prime  importance  to  the  teacher:  — 

First,  the  study  of  the  Word  of  God.  I  do  not  care  what  branch 
we  may  be  teaching,  whether  English,  foreign  languages,  mathemat¬ 
ics,  science,  or  Bible,  I  believe  that  every  teacher  in  our  schools  must 
every  day  read  the  Word  of  God  for  his  own  soul’s  instruction. 

Tt  may  be  that  we  do  not  get  a  great  deal  of  help  from  the  lesson 
that  we  teach  from  the  Word  of  God  to  others.  At  least  it  must  be 
said  that  it  will  never  take  the  place  of  reading  that  Word  for  the 
benefit  and  instruction  to  our  own  hearts  and  souls.  I  never  get  so 
much  help  myself  from  a  sermon  that  I  preach  as  I  get  from  taking  my 
Bible  by  myself  and  reading  it  as  the  Word  of  God  to  my  own  heart. 
Then  it  is  that  God  speaks  to  me.  On  occasions  when  we  stand  be¬ 
fore  the  people,  there  is  a  kind  of  influence,  an  inspiration,  a  mag¬ 
netism  and  personality,  and  a  power  that  oftentimes  is  very  marked, 
very  inspiring,  and  very  helpful ;  but  I  do  not  think  that  any  minister 
or  any  teacher  can  possibly  rely  upon  his  public  work  to  feed  his 
own  soul  with  spiritual  food.  He  must  take  this  good  book,  this 
Word  of  God,  and  read  it  as  a  little  child  reads  it,  and  it  must  be  to 
him  the  message  of  God  to  his  soul.  For  every  preacher  and  every 
teacher  needs  to  feed  his  own  soul  with  the  very  same  food  with  which 
he  tries  to  feed  others. 

My  soul  cannot  live  on  what  I  impart.  Spiritual  food  must 
first  be  eaten  and  assimilated,  and  after  a  time  it  will  become  a  part 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


■m 

171 

of  the  daily  experience.  So  I  hold  that  every  teacher  in  our  schools 
must  be  a  constant  reader;  and  not  only  a  constant  reader,  but  he 
must  be  a  student  of  the  Word  of  God  for  himself,  spiritually.  There 
is  no  good  book  in  this  world  that  you  can  substitute  for  the  Word 
of  God.  There  is  nothing  that  has  ever  been  written  by  man  that 
can  take  its  place. 

A  man  must  read  it  daily;  for  if  he  only  reads  it  occasionally  and 
not  systematically,  then  he  does  not  reallv  get  that  hungering  and 
thirsting  for  it  that  he  will  get  if  he  disciplines  himself  to  sit  down  at 
a  regular  time  in  the  day,  and  read  for  his  own  soul’s  instruction. 

God  speaks  through  this  Word.  No  commentary  on  the  Bible 
could  ever  possibly  take  the  place  of  the  book  itself.  Therefore 
every  one  of  us  must  read  this  book  daily.  T  do  not  see  how  it  is 
possible  for  us  to  go  to  our  classes  and  do  the  work  God  has  committed 
to  us,  if  we  neglect  this  Book.  I  know  that  you  are  busy  men,  I 
know  that  you  have  to  get  up  early  and  work  late,  and  many  of  you 
are  carrying  many  burdens  and  responsibilities,  all  of  which  seem 
essential  to  the  cause  of  God.  But,  my  friends,  it  will  never  pay  this 
denomination  so  to  burden  any  man  in  the  schoolroom  who  has  to 
deal  with  our  children,  that  he  does  not  have  time  to  read  the  Word 
of  God  for  himself.  We  may  think  that  it  will  pay  us  to  have  these 
men  deal  with  business;  but  it  will  pay  us  a  great  deal  better  to  have 
them  feed  their  souls  upon  this  Word  of  God. 

My  friends,  we  cannot  neglect  this  good  Book  without  manifest¬ 
ing  great  weakness  in  our  work.  We  may  think  we  can  dispense 
with  it  today,  because  of  our  hurry, —  maybe  a  committee  meeting 
early,  maybe  a  lot  of  detail  work  that  must  be  attended  to,  —  and 
so  we  say  we  will  take  our  chances  of  finding  some  other  hour  than 
this  hour  that  we  have  set  apart  for  this  good  Book.  But  I  find 
when  a  man  misses  his  time  for  studying  the  Word  of  God,  in  some 
way  every  hour  of  the  day  seems  filled  up,  and  he  hurries  on  and  does 
not  read  the  Book. 

When  a  man  goes  a  few  days  without  reading  the  Bible,  he  will 
go  a  week  or  a  month.  There  is  many  a  man  in  this  work  today  who 
is  working  hard  and  loyally,  but  who  does  not  take  time  in  the  week 
to  read  a  chapter  from  this  good  book.  I  think  we  make  weaklings 
of  ourselves  instead  of  strong  men  when  we  allow  the  pressure  of 
duty  and  responsibi  ity  to  drive  us  and  goad  us  with  so  many  things 
to  do  that  we  fail  to  read  the  Word  of  God. 

One  thing  I  wish  to  mention:  I  believe  that  next  to  the  Bible  in 
our  reading,  we  should  endeavor  to  read  from  the  spirit  of  prophecy 
[many  voices:  “Amen”].  Now  you  may  say  what  you  like,  my 


172 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


friends,  men  may  make  what  comments  they  please,  but  no  man  in 
this  world  can  convince  me  that  there  is  anything  that  is  so  help¬ 
ful,  next  to  the  Word  of  God,  that  has  ever  been  written  by  men, 
as  that  which  we  learn  from  the  spirit  of  prophecy  [many  voices: 
“Amen”]. 

You  may  say  that  you  do  not  believe  in  verbal  inspiration  or 
you  may  say  you  think  Sister  White  has  made  mistakes.  You 
may  say  what  you  like,  but  I  believe  it  is  the  experience  of  every 
God-fearing  man  here  today,  that  in  all  the  realms  of  your  reading 
you  have  never  found  anything  that  helped  you  so  much  spiritually 
as  the  writings  of  Sister  White,  next  to  the  Word  of  God. 

Now  I  believe  that  we  ought  to  read  conscientiously  a  portion  of 
the  writings  of  Sister  White  every  day,  for  our  spiritual  exercise. 
I  would  never  substitute  these  for  the  Word  of  God,  for  I  believe  the 
Bible  ought  to  stand  paramount;  but  I  believe  the  reading  of  the 
Word  of  God  ought  to  be  supplemented  by  the  reading  of  the  spirit 
of  prophecy,  making  your  own  selections.  I  have  never  read  any¬ 
thing  in  literature  that  is  more  grand  and  sublime  than  her  life  of 
Christ,  “The  Desire  of  Ages.”  It  is  a  wonderful  book.  Here  we 
can  find  many  things  that  will  speak  to  our  hearts  and  change  our 
lives,  if  we  will  study  them  sympathetically  and  desire  that  the 
thoughts  shall  speak  to  our  souls  as  we  read  them. 

Another  thing,  I  believe  that  for  both  teacher  and  preacher,  the 
next  thing  to  the  reading  of  the  Word  of  God  is  daily  prayer,  com¬ 
munion  with  God.  It  seems  pitiable  how  little  we  pray.  Professor 
Lawrence  read  to  us  many  beautiful  sayings  and  extracts,  showing  the 
mighty  results  of  prayer.  But,  brethren,  while  all  that  sounds  good, 
yet  I  think  the  time  has  come  when  Seventh-day  Adventists  should 
not  have  to  go  to  biography  or  history  to  find  the  power  of  prayer 
and  how  God  answers  prayer,  but  there  ought  to  be  men  who  have 
arisen  and  developed  right  in  this  denomination,  that  will  stand 
as  monuments  to  the  world  of  what  God  has  done  and  can  do  through 
prayer.  It  is  proper  to  read  the  lives  of  such  men  as  Muller  or  Moody. 
They  are  a  great  help  and  inspiration,  but  there  is  nothing  we  need 
today  so  much  as  to  have  such  men  in  our  own  ranks,  going  to  the 
world  with  this  great  message  and  truth. 

The  time  certainly  has  come  when  there  ought  to  be  men  of  faith 
and  power  developed  through  the  third  angel’s  message.  You  and 
I  ought  not  to  have  to  go  to  the  Methodist  Church,  or  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  or  any  other  church  for  striking  characters  to  demonstrate 
the  effectiveness  of  prayer;  but  we  ought  to  be  able  to  draw  examples 
from  the  lives  of  men  who  have  lived  this  message.  It  has  now  been 
nearly  a  full  generation  that  we  have  been  preaching.  The  genera- 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


173 


tion  that  began  this  work  is  passing  away  one  by  one,  and  a  new  gen¬ 
eration  is  taking  up  the  work;  and,  brethren,  if  there  is  anything  in 
the  third  angel’s  message  of  power  and  worth,  it  ought  to  be  demon¬ 
strated  in  seventy  years.  Therefore  the  time  has  come  when  we  as 
leaders  of  men  should  give  ourselves  to  prayer,  and  work  out  an  ex¬ 
perience  for  ourselves,  that  we  may  know  to  a  certainty  that  God 
does  hear  and  answer  prayer.  And  where  is  there  any  one  who  needs 
it  more  than  our  teachers,  who  have  to  take  the  twenty-seven  thou¬ 
sand  youth  in  our  conferences  and  in  our  mission  fields  and  teach  them 
the  Christian  religion?  Think  of  it!  twenty-seven  thousand  boys 
and  girls  marching  into  the  schoolrooms  day  after  day,  nine  months  in 
the  year,  to  be  taught  by  teachers,  to  listen  to  everything  the  teacher 
has  to  say. 

Brethren,  I  believe  there  ought  to  be  developed  in  our  ranks  men 
of  great  faith  in  God,  men  who  have  learned  to  prevail  in  prayer;  for 
I  tell  you  there  is  individually  more  life  and  power  and  vitality,  for 
me,  in  proving  God  for  myself  and  finding  out  what  he  will  do  for  me, 
as  compared  with  another’s  experience,  than  there  would  be  in  going 
back  to  the  days  of  Moses  or  Jacob  to  prove  that  God  answers  prayer. 
What  I  want  to  know  is  that  God  has  heard  me  pray. 

I  do  not  think  that  praying  is  simply  muttering  over  words,  but 
it  is  having  something  that  you  want  from  God;  and  you  put  your 
petition  up  to  the  throne  of  God  and  take  hold  of  that  thing  by  faith, 
and  receive  it  in  the  heart.  This  is  prayer. 

Of  course  prayer  has  other  elements.  It  is  praise  and  thanks¬ 
giving;  but,  brethren,  there  is  nothing  that  will  give  a  man  so  much 
confidence  in  prayer  as  to  have  God  answer  him  definitely  in  some 
petition.  When  a  man  has  that  experience,  he  stands  up  and  speaks 
with  authority,  and  he  knows  what  he  is  talking  about.  So  I  believe, 
dear  friends,  that  every  teacher  must  be  a  praying  teacher,  and  the 
soul  of  every  teacher  ought  to  be  in  communion  with  God  every  day 
before  he  meets  his  classes. 

It  would  not  be  fitting  for  a  minister  to  stand  before  a  congrega¬ 
tion  without  prayer.  Every  man  who  stands  up  to  preach  ought  to 
have  every  sin  in  his  life  confessed.  He  never  ought  to  walk  up  to 
the  pulpit  without  the  consciousness  that  God  has  cleansed  him  from 
every  sin.  He  may  have  manifest  weaknesses,  there  may  be  in  his 
life  things  that  have  been  wrong,  but  no  man  should  ever  go  before  a 
congregation  to  speak  in  the  name  of  God  until  every  sin  has  been 
made  right  with  God  and  man. 

The  same  thing  is  true  of  a  teacher.  I  do  not  think  a  teacher 
should  ever  go  before  his  class  until  he  has  met  God  face  to  face  and 


174 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


settled  every  wrong  in  his  life.  He  ought  to  stand  there  as  God’s 
man;  he  ought  to  stand  there  conscious  that  Jesus  Christ  has  cleansed 
him  from  sin;  he  ought  to  stand  there  knowing  that  Jesus  answers 
for  his  life.  When  he  does  that,  it  is  his  privilege  to  believe  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  has  breathed  into  his  soul,  and  that  he  is  filled  with  the 
Spirit  of  God. 

Why  should  not  a  teacher  who  has  to  mold  twenty,  thirty,  or  • 
fifty  lives  for  this  hour  of  the  world’s  history,  and  add  something  to 
what  others  have  been  doing,  to  shape  them  for  eternity,  why  should 
not  that  man  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost?  Why  should  not  he  have 
the  privilege  of  standing  with  the  assurance  that  God  is  by  his  side, 
and  that  in  that  very  room  he  is  to  speak  for  one  hour,  or  for  forty-five 
minutes,  with  the  angels  from  the  throne  of  God  present  to  emphasize 
his  message,  to  give  his  words  the  right  intonation  and  the  right  spirit 
as  they  enter  into  the  ears  of  those  boys  and  girls?  It  is  your  privi¬ 
lege  to  have  the  Holy  Ghost  to  assist  you  in  teaching,  and  for  the  min¬ 
isters  to  have  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  power  of  God  as  they  stand  before 
a  more  public  congregation.  When  you  desire  this,  then  God  is  always 
ready  to  give  you  his  Spirit.  But  you  can  never  get  this  power, 
nor  can  you  ever  become  strong  leaders, —  pace  setters,  inspirers  of 
other  lives, —  until  you  yourselves  have  drunk  deeply  at  the  fountain. 

By  prayer  I  do  not  mean  that  we  get  together  around  the  family 
circle  and  read  a  few  words  hastily,  and  then  get  on  our  knees  and 
say  our  prayers  hurriedly,  spending  only  a  moment  at  it.  I  do  not 
think  that  is  the  way  to  get  power.  While  I  would  not  eliminate 
family  worship,  for  I  think  we  ought  to  hold  to  that,  yet  what  I  mean 
by  prayer  is  secret  communion  —  where  you  go  by  yourselves  every¬ 
day  and  commune  with  God;  and  this  season  of  prayer  ought  to  come 
before  you  take  up  the  great  responsibility  of  teaching  your  students. 
Everything  ought  to  be  made  right  between  you  and  God,  and  if  there 
is  any  feeling  between  you  and  any  student  or  fellow  worker,  if  any 
unpleasantness  has  developed,  it  ought  to  be  made  right,  and  be 
settled  up  before  the  throne  of  God.  The  throne  is  the  one  place 
where  we  may  clear  our  hearts  and  settle  these  things.  When  this 
is  done,  you  are  ready  for  a  strong  day’s  work  for  God.  This  can 
never  be  done,  brethren,  except  by  prayer,  You  cannot  find  it  in 
reading  or  anywhere  else.  There  is  only  one  place  where  I  have 
been  able  to  find  it,  and  that  is  with  God,  looking  into  his  face  and 
acknowledging  my  wickedness  and  sins,  and  then  beseeching  him  to 
give  me  power  to  do  his  will. 

One  other  thing  I  want  to  mention,  in  addition  to  reading  the 
Word  of  God  and  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  and  prayer,  and  that  is, 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


175 


every  one  of  us  ought  to  take  a  little  time  to  meditate.  Our  lives 
are  too  hurried,  we  are  all  getting  too  busy.  I  think  that  we  are 
simply  driving  spiritual  advance  away  by  our  tremendous  activity 
and  our  fearful  intensity  for  work.  It  is  work,  work,  work,  until 
we  are  so  weary  that  we  cannot  pray,  and  then  we  have  to  go  out  so 
early  in  the  morning  that  w£  do  not  have  time  to  pray.  What  a 
condition  for  this  closing  work!  Brethren,  it  is  not  of  God.  God 
does  not  put  on  any  one  so  many  duties  that  he  has  no  time  to  read 
and  pray  or  meditate.  We  ought  to  do  it,  we  ought  to  take  time, 
dear  friends,  not  only  to  read  the  Word  of  God  and  pray,  but  I  think 
we  ought  to  take  time  every  day  to  meditate,  to  think  calmly,  un¬ 
hurriedly,  dispassionately,  and  to  put  our  souls,  as  it  were,  in  con¬ 
nection  with  heaven. 

You  remember  how  the  psalmist  declared  he  would  meditate 
upon  the  Word  of  God.  We  read  in  the  143rd  psalm,  fifth  verse: 
“I  remember  the  days  of  old;  I  meditate  on  all  thy  works;  I  muse  on 
the  work  of  thy  hands.” 

That  is  the  duty  of  a  Christian,  brethren.  You  cannot  find  enough 
by  just  reading  this  Book.  You  must  stop  and  meditate  on  God 
and  his  providence,  and  his  dealings  with  the  church,  with  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  men;  or  if  you  would  open  your  eyes,  watch  and  see  in  your 
own  life  the  manifestation  again  and  again  of  the  blessings  and  the 
power  of  God.  That  is  where  David  obtained  many  of  his  wonderful 
sayings  in  the  Psalms.  He  drew  them  out  of  his  own  life,  from  God’s 
dealings  with  him.  But  we  are  apt  to  think  that  we  must  study  the 
life  of  some  one  else  to  see  if  God  still  works  for  men  and  answers 
prayer;  that  we  must  read  such  books  as  “Grace  Abounding”  or  the 
life  of  Muller,  to  get  something  from  this  man  or  that  man  who  has 
studied  other  men  and  written  their  biographies.  Brethren,  there  is 
manifest  in  your  own  life  again  and  again  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  as  truly  as  in  these  other  men,  if  only  we  could  open  our  eyes 
and  see  it.  If  a  man  will  begin  to  study  and  meditate  on  how  God 
is  blessing  him,  it  will  greatly  strengthen  his  faith;  he  will  believe 
that  God  is  with  him.  And  as  he  draws  from  his  own  experience 
incidents  of  God’s  dealing  with  him  and  blessing  him,  when  in  need 
how  God  has  helped  him,  he  will  begin  to  reach  out  for  help  in  emer¬ 
gencies,  his  faith  will  be  strengthened,  and  he  will  become  a  mighty 
and  strong  spiritual  leader  in  the  training  of  young  men  to  go  out 
into  the  great  harvest  field  and  become  workers  for  God. 


CULTURAL  EDUCATION  IN  SCHOOL  HOMES 

The  Walla  Walla  College  Plan 

E.  C.  KELLOGG 

To  some  of  our  educators  it  appears  that  during  the  past  there 
has  been  at  times  too  much  nebula  in  our  educational  system.  The 
mighty  angel  of  Revelation  ro  came  into  such  intimate  contact  with 
our  planet  as  could  be  accomplished  by  placing  one  foot  upon  the 
sea  and  the  other  upon  the  earth;  some  of  our  educational  ideals  have 
touched  neither  earth  nor  heaven.  It  is  no  doubt  true  that  “God 
looked  with  indulgence  on  the  days  of  men’s  ignorance,  but  now  he 
is  announcing  to  every  one  everywhere  the  need  for  repentance.” 

From  the  viewpoint  just  suggested  in  the  opening  paragraph,  it 
is  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  consider  the  question  in  hand  as  nearly 
as  possible  in  its  workings  at  Walla  Walla  College.  It  will  no  doubt 
be  understood  without  mention  that  the  question  is  one  of  great 
importance.  It  continually  touches  the  daily  life  of  the  student  and 
becomes  a  part  of  his  character. 

There  are  approximately  one  hundred  students  in  the  college 
homes.  This  is  probably  one  half  the  attendance.  The  dormitories 
are  built  as  wings  of  the  college.  This  is  not  an  ideal  arrangement, 
but  was  set  fast  in  brick  and  mortar  more  than  twenty  years  ago, 
and  comes  as  a  heritage  to  the  present  management.  The  dining 
room  occupies  the  basement  of  the  ladies’  dormitory,  and  the  kitchen 
joins  the  dining  room  and  is  between  the  dormitories. 

The  cafeteria  plan  is  used  in  serving  meals.  It  was  adopted  two 
years  ago.  The  strong  influence  in  its  favor  at  the  time  was  financial. 
The  kitchen  was  running  behind,  and  it  was  believed  the  cafeteria  plan 
would  remedy  the  difficulty.  The  strong  objection  was  that  the  home 
life  would  be  destroyed.  After  a  trial  of  two  years,  the  plan  meets 
general  approval.  It  proves  of  some  advantage  to  host  and  hostess 
in  allowing  them  nearly  an  equal  chance  with  the  rest  of  getting 
something  to  eat.  It  is  also  economical.  The  waste  at  the  present 
time  is  probably  not  more  than  two  per  cent  of  what  it  was  under 
the  old  plan.  The  average  monthly  expense  for  each  individual 
is  about  seven  dollars  for  the  women  and  eight  for  the  men,  with  a 
minimum  charge  in  each  case  of  six  dollars.  At  this  rate  the  school 
comes  out  even.  Perhaps  of  more  importance  still  is  the  variety 
made  possible.  With  the  number  of  dishes  offered,  one  can  readily 
find  food  adapted  to  his  changing  desires  and  needs  from  day  to  day. 
This  no  doubt  is  beneficial  healthwise,  as  well  as  insuring  contentment. 
There  is  essentially  no  complaint  of  tiring  from  the  sameness  of  the 
food. 


176 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


177 


The  disadvantage  of  lack  of  homelike  conditions  is  reduced  to  a 
minimum.  Morning  worship  is  conducted  in  the  dining  room  with 
all  present.  The  Scripture  reading  is  followed  by  prayer.  At  the 
close  of  prayer  the  waiters  pass  out  to  the  decks  to  dish  hot  foods. 
A  closing  hymn  is  sung.  Then  the  company  stands  and  grace  is  said. 
This  service  takes  altogether  about  fifteen  minutes.  One  has  said 
of  this  exercise,  “It  will  take  eternity  to  tell  of  the  inspiration  these 
occasions  give  to  us.  It  starts  the  day  right.”  At  the  noon  hour  all 
assemble  in  their  respective  places  at  the  table  and  stand  while  grace 
is  said.  A  signal  from  the  bell  insures  quiet  in  the  kitchen  as  well 
as  in  the  dining  room. 

The  decks  are  as  tastefully  arranged  as  possible.  The  same  kind 
of  food  is  always  in  the  same  place.  Essentially  everything  is  in  indi¬ 
vidual  dishes.  The  waiters  are  selected  with  care,  and  a  special  re¬ 
quirement  is  neatness  of  person.  They  are  also  uniformed  in  white 
aprons.  This  is  deemed  important. 

In  going  to  the  kitchen  for  food  and  returning  to  the  dining  room, 
there  are  two  lines  of  march,  one  for  the  ladies  and  another  for  the 
gentlemen.  This  part  is  conducted  very  quietly.  When  all  the  mem¬ 
bers  of  a  table  have  returned,  they  are  seated  and  the  meal  goes  for¬ 
ward;  when  they  have  finished,  they  leave  the  table  together  and  do 
not  return  empty  dishes  to  the  kitchen.  This  puts  each  table  as  nearly 
as  possible  on  the  basis  of  a  home.  The  order  of  march  by  tables  is 
changed  each  week,  and  the  membership  of  the  several  tables  is 
changed  each  six- weeks  period. 

Probably  here  it  should  be  remarked  that  a  light  lunch  is  served 
at  the  evening  hour.  This  is  very  well  patronized,  and  does  much 
to  discourage  the  practice  of  taking  lunch  in  the  individual  rooms, 
though  that  is  not  forbidden. 

In  the  matter  of  rooms  it  is  the  plan  for  each  student  to  care  for 
his  or  her  own  room.  This  work  is  done  under  the  direction  of  the 
preceptor  and  preceptress  respectively,  and  the  student  is  encour¬ 
aged  to  be  prompt,  orderly,  neat,  and  to  maintain  suitable  conditions. 

Evening  worship  is  conducted  in  both  dormitories.  This  affords 
opportunity  for  the  consideration  of  some  things  as  occasion  may 
dictate,  not  suited  to  the  conditions  of  the  morning  hour.  It  is  at 
this  time  that  the  preceptor  and  preceptress  come  close  to  the  stu¬ 
dents.  At  times  some  of  the  advanced  students  conduct  the  home 
services.  This  affords  more  variety. 

Occasionally  on  Saturday  evening  the  students  meet  together  for 
social  enjoyment  under  the  direction  of  the  preceptor  and  preceptress. 
It  is  coming  to  be  a  custom  that  the  young  men  and  the  young  women 
respectively  entertain  one  another  on  alternate  years.  A  service 
12 


178 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


which  is  much  appreciated  is  the  union  devotional  meeting  held 
fortnightly  in  the  home.  The  students  from  both  dormitories  meet 
in  the  ladies’  parlor  at  sundown  Friday  evening,  and  the  service  is 
usually  conducted  by  one  of  the  teachers  or  a  minister  from  the  village. 
Of  course  the  dormitory  students  have  an  equal  chance  with  other 
students  in  the  general  work  of  the  college,  as  receptions,  special  pro¬ 
grams,  and  literary  societies. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  a  general  talk  is  given,  explaining 
plans,  conditions,  and  requirements  necessary  to  the  successful  car¬ 
rying  on  of  the  work.  Later  at  intervals  talks  are  given  calling  atten¬ 
tion  to  noticeable  errors  in  table  etiquette  and  other  departures  from 
good  form. 

More  important  still  is  individual  and  personal  instruction  and 
correction.  This  method  brings  certain  understanding.  It  saves  the 
student  from  embarrassment;  it  avoids  gossip,  discontent,  disfavor. 
It  holds  the  support  of  the  student  body;  it  wins. 

Above  all  and  through  all  is  a  spirit  of  friendliness  and  cooper¬ 
ation.  Our  students  are  trusted,  they  are  given  responsibilities,  they 
are  depended  upon.  This  attitude  appeals  to  the  highest  and  noblest 
elements  of  their  natures,  and  they  respond,  with  rare  exceptions. 

Hearty  cooperation  is  shown  in  the  purposes  and  endeavors  of 
members  of  the  morning  prayer  bands,  which  may  be  stated  as  fol¬ 
lows:  — 

“  I.  To  spend  at  least  thirty  minutes  each  day  in  secret  devotion, 
including  the  observance  of  the  ‘Morning  Watch.’ 

“2.  To  give  a  friendly  greeting  to  every  person  I  meet. 

“3.  To  be  the  first  to  cheer  the  sick  or  discouraged  one. 

“4.  To  make  a  definite  personal  effort  each  day  to  lead  some  one 
to  Christ.” 

We  have  not  yet  made  the  requirement  which  has  been  recom¬ 
mended  in  part  in  this  Council;  namely,  that  the  preceptor  “be  blame¬ 
less,  the  husband  of  one  wife;”  and  likewise  that  the  preceptress  “be 
discreet,  chaste,”  a  keeper  at  home,  and  the  wife  of  one  husband; 
but  it  will  of  course  be  understood  without  remark  that  very  impor¬ 
tant  factors,  in  fact  the  powers  of  motion,  in  this  plan  are  the  pre¬ 
ceptor  and  the  preceptress.  From  the  moment  the  student  receives  a 
welcome  greeting,  to  the  close  of  the  year,  there  is  a  height  and  depth, 
length  and  breadth,  of  generous  and  friendly  consideration  which 
inspires  and  encourages  the  development  of  the  “fruits  of  the  Spirit;” 
and  the  unselfishness,  the  consideration  for  others,  and  the  general 
good  deportment  of  all  connected  with  the  school,  create  an  atmosphere 
which  is  appreciated  by  visitors,  and  is  not  infrequently  commented 
upon  by  them  favorably. 


SEX  EDUCATION 


C.  C.  LEWIS 

It  is  sate  to  say  that  sex  education  is  due  when  the  need  arises, 
that  is,  when  the  child  first  begins  to  inquire  about  the  origin  of  life. 
And  this  principle  points  to  the  home  as  the  place,  and  to  the  parent 
as  the  teacher,  of  these  early  lessons;  for  such  questions  commonly 
arise  before  the  child  enters  school.  Here  all  authorities  seem  to  be 
agreed, —  that  the  home  is  the  most  suitable  place  and  the  parents 
the  most  natural  teachers,  not  only  for  the  young  child,  but  for  the 
son  and  daughter  entering  upon  the  period  of  puberty.  But  the 
trouble  is,  so  the  educators  say,  that  parents  almost  universally  shirk 
this  duty.  They  are  not  prepared  to  discharge  it,  or  are  afraid  of  it,  or 
entertain  a  false  modesty  in  regard  to  it,  and  hence  have  entered  into 
a  sort  of  unconscious  “conspiracy  of  silence’'  upon  the  subject.  When 
their  children  ask  questions,  they  freeze  them  with  silence,  or  whet 
their  curiosity  with  mystery,  or  stuff  their  inquiring  minds  with  fables; 
and  the  result  is,  that,  not  obtaining  information  at  home,  where 
they  ought  to  get  it,  pure  and  undefiled,  they  seek  for  it  among  their 
chance  companions,  and  get  it  distorted  and  accompanied  with  lewd 
suggestions. 

Now  all  this  ought  to  be  remedied.  This  subject  is  a  proper  one 
for  parents  and  children  to  talk  about.  And  it  is  not  so  difficult  as 
parents  imagine.  A  very  elementary  knowledge  of  plant  and  animal 
life,  a  modicum  of  common  sense,  and  a  reasonable  degree  of  piety  are 
sufficient  for  parents  to  begin  with.  Of  course,  they  can  make  good 
use  of  a  broader  knowledge  of  botany,  biology,  and  zoology;  but  for 
practical  purposes  parents  should  not  hesitate  to  begin  with  what 
knowledge  they  have,  adding  to  their  store  by  reading  and  observation. 

“  I  should  like  to  teach  my  child  something  about  sex  in  plant  life,” 
writes  one  mother. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  wonderful  stories  in  nature,  and  one  that 
delights  very  small  children.  For  you  know  little  children  are  more 
interested  in  babies  than  they  are  in  grown  people.  They  are  wild 
with  delight  when  you  tell  them  about  the  baby  pea,  the  baby  rose¬ 
bud,  etc.  The  wise  parent  avails  herself  of  this  desire  to  know  about 
the  origin  of  plants;  and  so,  long  before  the  child  has  come  to  that 
point  in  his  development  where  he  is  concerned  about  his  own  exist¬ 
ence,  he  has  become  acquainted  with  the  great  laws  of  interdependence, 
and  the  two  forces  running  all  through  nature.  In  the  flowers  and 
fruits,  in  the  vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms,  we  find  the  male  and 
female  principles. 


179 


ISO 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


In  the  beginning  God  said  that  the  plants  should  bring  forth  seed 
after  their  kind,  the  birds  also,  and  every  living  thing  in  like  manner. 
Always  keep  before  the  mind  of  the  child  the  wonderful  power  of  God 
in  his  created  works.  Call  attention  to  the  perfect  arrangement  in 
the  tiny  flower,  and  show  how  particular  God  was  to  do  everything 
just  right;  so  we  should  have  flowers  of  different  colors,  and  birds  of 
different  songs.  All  these  things  he  placed  in  the  earth  to  make  it 
more  beautiful  for  us  his  children.  Because  God  made  man  in  his 
own  likeness,  he  was  the  crowning  work  of  all  creation,  and  he  wanted 
him  to  have  a  beautiful  place  to  live. 

Just  here  I  cannot  refrain  from  introducing  an  experience  which 
Mrs.  Lewis  had  a  number  of  years  ago.  She  received  a  business  letter 
from  a  mother,  in  which  allusion  was  made  to  some  experiences  she 
had  been  having  with  her  children.  The  mother  was  asked  to  write 
out  her  experiences,  and  she  responded  in  a  letter  so  artless,  and  at 
the  same  time  so  full  of  wisdom,  good  judgment,  and  intelligent  piety, 
that  I  should  be  glad  to  quote  the  entire  letter  if  there  were  time. 

This  mother  had  five  children,  the  oldest  a  girl  of  nine  years  and 
the  youngest  a  babe  of  two  months.  She  said  they  were  among  the 
poor  of  this  earth,  living  in  a  small  house  of  two  small  rooms.  She 
had  much  work  to  do,  but  .she  realized  there  was  one  work  above  all 
others  that  she  must  do,  and  that  was  to  help  the  children  build  a 
character  for  time  and  eternity.  She  then  described  how  she  had 
taught  all  the  children  to  help  her  in  the  different  kinds  of  housework, 
in  order  that  she  might  have  time  to  go  out  with  them  for  romps  in 
the  fields.  “On  the  Sabbath,”  she  continues,  “all  our  work  is  done 
beforehand,  and  after  our  morning  lesson  we  are  ready  to  go  out;  for 
children  want  to  be  out  when  the  sun  is  shining.  And  as  there  seems 
to  be  nothing  they  love  so  well  as  to  pick  flowers,  we  are  out  the 
greater  part  of  the  Sabbath.  It  was  on  one  of  those  blessed  days 
that  I  learned  this  lesson. 

“As  we  were  walking  along,  we  came  to  a  place  where  a  horse  was 
tied,  and  a  small  colt  running  all  around  its  mother.  My  little  boy 
of  six  had  no  more  than  seen  the  colt  before  he  asked.  ‘Mamma, 
where  did  that  colt  come  from?’  I  did  not  know  what  to  say;  but 
before  I  had  time  to  say  anything  he  answered  his  own  question,  and 
began  something  like  this,  ‘Oh,  I  know,  mamma;  you  know,  mamma, 
that  hens  lay  eggs,  but  horses  have  to  work,  and  I  tell  you  what  I 
think,  mamma;  they  hatch  the  eggs  before  they  lay  them.’  I  had 
never  thought  of  it  in  that  light  before,  but  I  took  in  the  new  light, 
as  it  were,  at  once,  and  we  had  a  long  talk  together  about  the  wonder¬ 
ful  wisdom  of  God, —  how  wonderfully  he  had  planned  everything, 
so  that  animals  that  have  to  work  have  a  place  prepared.  And  tak- 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


181 


ing  an  apple,  I  cut  it  open  to  see  how  carefully  the  seeds  were  placed, 
and  explained  that  while  we  had  to  take  the  seed  from  the  fruit  and 
plant  it  in  the  ground  in  order  for  the  seed  to  get  food,  God  had  so 
arranged  it  that  the  seed  from  which  animals  grow  got  food  where 
they  were  placed. 

“I  never  was  so  thankful  for  anything  as  for  this  little  incident. 
By  talking  it  over  with  them  they  have  come  to  look  upon  the  crea¬ 
tion  of  animals  as  they  do  on  all  other  of  God’s  creation, —  something 
wonderful,  which  only  God  could  do.  Not  an  evil  thought  accom¬ 
panied  it,  for  about  their  only  remark  was,  ‘Don’t  you  think  God  is 
wonderful,  mamma?’ 

“But  I  knew  the  evil  one  would  not  be  content  to  let  their  minds 
be  thus  pure;  and  knowing  that  there  was  lots  of  room  yet,  for  we 
had  said  nothing  about  the  creation  of  man,  I  fully  made  up  my  mind 
that  I  would  be  the  first  one  to  tell  them  everything,  so  they  could 
see  it  in  a  pure  light.  I  prayed  to  God  earnestly  for  wisdom.  Still 
I  let  week  after  week  pass  till  some  time  last  winter,  one  evening 
after  all  the  rest  had  gone  to  bed,  and  I  and  my  little  girl  as  usual 
had  a  talk  together.  But  that  night  I  began  by  speaking  of  the 
creation  of  God,  going  over  the  same  ground  that  we  had  often  gone 
over  before;  and  I  then  asked  her  if  she  knew  where  babies  came  from. 
She  said  she  thought  the  angels  brought  them  to  the  doctor.  We 
had  a  long  talk  together.  I  told  her  babies  were  born  like  all  other 
creatures,  that  every  mamma  had  her  own  babies.  I  told  her,  too, 
not  to  tell  any  other  children;  that  it  was  their  mamma’s  place  to  do 
that.  I  have  watched  very  closely  to  see  what  effect  it  would  have 
on  her;  and  I  can  truly  say  that  if  all  mothers  would  reveal  to  their 
children  what  they  think  great  mysteries,  they  would  be  well  paid 
for  the  time  spent;  for  by  thus  telling  them  things  that  they  so  much 
like  to  know,  you  get  their  whole  confidence. 

“We  are  now  looking  forward  to  the  good  time  we  will  have  when 
the  weather  gets  warm  and  school  closes;  for,  ‘You  know,  Anna, 
mamma  will  go  out  with  us  then,’  although  they  know  that  they 
will  have  to  do  half  of  the  work  in  order  to  have  me  go  with  them 
at  all;  and  then  all  I  do  most  of  the  time  is  to  go  with  them  and  sit 
down  on  some  high  place  where  they  can  see  me  wherever  they  run. 

“I  only  speak  of  this  because  I  don’t  think  I  or  any  other  mother 
can  keep  the  children’s  minds  pure  if  we  let  them  be  with  evil  children; 
and  as  children  want  to,  and  must  be,  out  of  doors,  the  one  best  suited 
to  be  with  them  is  the  mother.” 

Commenting  on  this  mother’s  experience,  Mrs.  Lewis  wrote:  — 

“I  am  more  and  more  convinced  that  there  is  danger  of  parents’ 
depending  too  much  upon  books  for  wisdom  to  train  their  children, 


182 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


and  not  enough  upon  that  wisdom  that  comes  from  above.  Living 
near  to  nature  and  near  to  nature’s  God  will  do  more  for  a  mother 
than  any  amount  of  book-learning  without  such  communion.” 

Not  only  should  the  younger  children  receive  these  elementary 
lessons  in  regard  to  the  origin  of  life,  but  even  more  during  the  stormy 
days  of  youth  do  they  need  parental  counsel.  Early  and  faithful  in¬ 
struction  should  be  given  about  the  sacredness  of  the  sexual  organs, 
and  the  terrible  results  that  often  follow  a  wrong  and  sinful  abuse 
of  them.  At  this  time,  the  daughter  should  receive  wise  counsel  in 
regard  to  the  periodic  physiological  changes  that  are  about  to  come 
to  her  —  what  they  mean,  and  how  to  care  for  herself,  so  that  she 
may  pass  through  them  without  impairment  of  health.  Instruct 
the  boy  with  respect  to  the  laws  -of  health  affecting  the  age  of  puberty. 
The  boy  should  be  taught  to  have  the  same  high  ideals  for  himself 
that  he  has  for  his  sister,  and  to  exalt  the  same  moral  standard  for 
men  as  for  women. 

Now,  the  parents  who  begin  early  to  instruct  their  children  in  the 
pure,  chaste  way  employed  by  the  mother  before  referred  to,  will 
have  little  difficulty  in  giving  to  their  sons  and  daughters  the  counsel 
adapted  to  their  growing  needs;  for  the  confidence  and  spirit  of  com¬ 
radeship  that  were  begun  thus  early  will  bind  parent  and  child  more 
and  more  closely  together  as  the  years  go  by,  and  will  lead  the  son 
and  daughter  to  look  naturally  to  the  parent  rather  than  to  any 
other  source  of  counsel  and  instruction.  Alas,  that  such  confidence 
and  comradeship  should  be  so  rare  through  false  modesty  and  a 
“league  of  silence,”  when  it  ought  to  be  and  might  be  the  normal 
and  natural  condition  of  parent  and  child. 

Thus  far  in  our  discussion  the  way  is  clear  and  smooth.  There 
seems  to  be  general  agreement  that  sex  instruction  such  as  has  been 
described  should  be  given  in  the  home.  But,  it  is  asserted,  such  in¬ 
struction  is  not  given  in  the  home  any  noticeable  extent.  While 
ideal  conditions  here  and  there  exist,  they  are  exceptional;  the  homes 
for  the  most  part  ignore  the  subject,  and  our  children  grow  up  in* 
ignorance  or  with  distorted  and  inadequate  knowledge.  Hence,  it 
is  argued,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  schools  to  occupy  this  neglected  field, 
and  give  suitable  sex  instruction  as  the  most  likely  means  of  saving 
the  race  from  moral  and  physical  disaster. 

Coming,  then,  to  the  teaching  of  this  subject  in  our  schools,  great 
care  should  be  exercised  lest  more  harm  be  done  by  injudicious  meth¬ 
ods  than  would  result  from  ignoring  the  subject  altogether.  For 
young  and  inexperienced  teachers  to  introduce  positive  and  radical 
measures,  setting  the  school  agog  with  unwholesome  feelings  and 
conversation,  and  drawing  the  disapproval  of  parents,  would  be  to 
court  disaster. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


183 


With  primary  pupils,  little  more  is  needed  than  the  cultivation 
of  proper  conduct  and  right  habits.  Indeed,  in  our  average  elemen¬ 
tary  schools  no  definite  instruction  should  be  attempted,  either  in 
classes  or  before  the  entire  school.  The  main  thing  is  to  see  that  the 
pupils  are  surrounded  with  a  pure  and  wholesome  atmosphere.  Rude¬ 
ness  and  coarseness  of  conduct  should  be  checked.  The  principles  of 
kindness  and  courtesy  and  chivalry  should  be  taught  and  encouraged 
by  precept  and  example.  High  and  noble  ideals  should  ever  be  kept 
before  the  school.  Purity  of  thought  and  action  should  be  com¬ 
mended,  and  all  coarseness  and  vulgarity  should  be  frowned  upon. 
And  the  teacher  should  be  constantly  on  the  watch  for  signs  of  any 
unwholesome  influence,  for  it  is  more  than  possible  that  every  school 
has  one  or  more  pupils  of  impure  tendencies,  and  the  contagion  will 
spread  if  it  be  not  checked. 

The  teacher  should  be  thoroughly  informed  by  reading  upon  all 
these  matters,  and  should  be  prepared  to  recognize  and  check  the 
first  tendencies  to  evil;  but  her  work  should  be  largely  of  an  individual 
nature,  talking  with  pupils  one  by  one  as  necessity  may  arise  or  the 
way  may  open.  The  teacher  should  also  keep  in  close  touch  with 
the  parents,  and  should  counsel  with  them  and  secure  their  coopera¬ 
tion  in  checking  improper  tendencies  on  the  part  of  their  children. 
Teachers  of  suitable  strength  of  character  and  adequate  knowledge 
of  the  subject,  might,  with  the  consent  of  the  parents,  have  heart-to- 
heart  talks  with  their  older  pupils,  but  always  one  by  one,  women  with 
girls  and  men  with  boys. 

In  colleges  and  academies  the  school  homes  furnish  a  good  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  sex  education.  The  preceptor  and  preceptress  sustain  a 
relation  to  the  pupils  of  our  school  homes  similar  to  that  of  parents. 
And  the  evening  worship  hour,  when  the  sexes  are  by  themselves, 
affords  the  very  best  opportunity  for  talks  and  readings  upon  sex 
physiology  and  hygiene,  either  by  the  persons  in  charge  or  by  suitable 
speakers  whom  they  may  secure.  There  are  also  many  opportunities 
for  private  talks  that  would  be  in  perfect  keeping  with  the  relation 
existing  between  the  students  and  their  preceptor  or  preceptress. 
Here,  also,  is  the  very  best  opportunity  for  the  principal  of  the  school 
to  cooperate  in  giving  instruction  to  the  pupils  and  counsel  to  those 
in  charge.  To  overlook  these  opportunities,  and  go  on  year  after 
year  without  alluding  to  these  subjects,  is  in  my  judgment  either  false 
modesty  or  unwarranted  neglect,  or  a  misapprehension  of  the  need 
of  such  instruction  on  the  part  of  students  and  of  the  duty  of  teach¬ 
ers  having  charge  of  these  homes  to  give  it. 

There  are  in  the  curricula  of  academy  and  college  certain  studies 
which  afford  opportunity  to  teach  the  principles  of  sex  and  repro- 


184 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


duction  in  a  general  way  in  mixed  classes.  I  refer,  of  course,  to  bot¬ 
any,  physiology,  biology,  and  zoology.  In  these  subjects  fertiliza¬ 
tion  of  plants  and  reproduction  of  the  lower  forms  of  animal  life  pave 
the  way  for  the  proper  understanding  of  sex.  Such  instruction  and 
training  are  approved,  even  by  those  who  are  opposed  to  the  direct 
teaching  of  sex  hygiene  in  the  schools.  And  in  all  grades  science  and 
nature  lessons  may  be  so  presented  as  to  furnish  a  foundation  for  more 
specific  instruction  later,  without  arousing  the  opposition  of  those 
who  conscientiously  fear  the  dangers  of  direct  teaching  of  sex  hygiene 
among  mixed  classes.  And  afterward  the  sexes  may  be  segregated 
for  the  study  of  special  physiology,  if  those  in  charge  of  the  work 
should  think  best. 

In  conclusion  I  would  say  that  all  purity  workers,  whether  parents, 
teachers,  ministers,  or  physicians,  should  make  wise  use  of  the  excel¬ 
lent  books  that  have  been  issued  of  late  years  on  the  subject  of  sex 
hygiene,  both  for  their  own  information  and  for  judicious  distribu¬ 
tion  among  the  young  people  for  whom  they  labor.  I  will  speak  of 
two  or  three.  The  “Self  and  Sex”  .series,  “What  a  Young  Boy 
Ought  to  Know,”  “What  a  Young  Man  Ought  to  Know,”  etc.,  are 
too  well  known  to  need  further  introduction.  Dr.  Mary  Wood- 
Alien’s  booklets,  “Almost  a  Man  ”  and  “Almost  a  Woman,”  are  ex¬ 
cellent  for  boys  and  girls  approaching  puberty.  But  I  wish  especially 
to  commend  the  “Edward  Bok  Books  of  Self-Knowledge  for  Young 
People  and  Parents.”  No.  I,  “How  Shall  I  Tell  My  Child?”  is  for 
parents;  No.  2,  “When  a  Boy  Becomes  a  Man,”  is  for  boys  of  from 
thirteen  to  fifteen  years  of  age;  No.  3,  “Instead  of  Wild  Oats,”  is  for 
young  men;  and  No.  5,  “The  Changing  Girl,”  is  for  the  girl  of  from 
ten  to  fifteen.  These  books  are  uniform  in  style  and  size,  may  be  car¬ 
ried  in  the  pocket,  and  cost  but  25  cents.  I  have  read  them  all,  and 
heartily  commend  them. 

If  I  were  asked  what  I  think  would  be  the  most  effective  plan  for 
promoting  sex  education  and  saving  our  young  people  from  the  evils 
of  the  world,  I  should  reply:  — 

1.  Let  our  Young  People’s  Department  prepare  and  circulate 
purity  literature;  and, — 

2.  Let  the  Department  of  Education,  through  the  Fireside  Cor¬ 
respondence  School,  offer  a  brief  course  of  lessons  to  prepare  parents 
and  teachers  for  giving  instruction  on  purity  subjects. 

DISCUSSION 

Meade  MacGuire:  I  feel  that  this  is  one  of  the  most  important 
subjects  that  we  have  to  deal  with  here  in  this  Council,  because,  next 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


185 


to  religion,  this  is  the  most  important  question  in  the  world,  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  sex,  the  relation  of  men  and  women.  Yet  it  is  one  which  we 
seem  willing  to  ignore,  or  let  alone,  perhaps  because  of  the  difficulty 
there  is  in  discussing  it. 

I  am  very  anxious  not  to  present  any  more  than  is  proper,  and 
at  the  same  time  not  to  leave  unsaid  what  is  necessary  to  say  to  awaken 
those  who  have  no  adequate  idea  of  the  great  importance  of  this  work, 
and  the  great  need  of  something  more  being  done  on  this  line. 

In  the  first  place,  it  seems  difficult  for  adults  to  appreciate  the  real 
conditions  under  which  a  child  grows  up  in  this  day.  The  conditions 
have  changed  greatly  in  the  last  thirty  or  forty  years,  since  some  of 
us  were  boys  and  girls.  The  conditions  have  changed  very  much  in 
the  last  five  years.  The  children  today  are  subjected  to  temptations 
that  those  of  us  who  have  reached  maturity  can  hardly  imagine. 

To  illustrate:  We  know  theoretically  that  moral  and  social  condi¬ 
tions  of  the  world  are  rapidly  growing  worse,  that  they  are  approach¬ 
ing  the  condition  of  the  antediluvian  world,  and  of  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah.  And  unless  we  sit  down  and  take  account  of  things,  we 
are  not  likely  to  sense  the  terribly  polluted  condition  of  the  world, 
for  familiarity  breeds  contempt. 

When  I  was  coming  up  here  to  the  college,  the  day  I  passed 
through  Los  Angeles,  the  leading  article  on  the  front  page  of  the  daily 
papers  was  in  regard  to  a  certain  play  which  had  just  been  intro¬ 
duced  into  the  city,  and  had  been  passed  on  unfavorably  by  the  board 
of  censors.  I  have  forgotten  the  title  of  the  play,  but  in  a  large  pic¬ 
ture  on  the  front  page  of  the  paper  there  was  illustrated  the  leading 
scene  in  the  play.  There  was  a  tree,  and  there  was  a  young  lady 
who  actually  came  out  upon  the  stage  in  this  act,  and  reached  out  to 
pick  fruit  from  the  tree,—  representing  Eve  apparently, —  and  she 
was  apparently  nude.  The  question  was  raised  in  the  paper, — 
letters  were  sent  out  to  many  of  the  leading  citizens  and  women  of 
the  city,  asking  their  opinion, —  as  to  the  justice  of  the  censor  board 
in  ruling  that  play  out  of  the  city.  I  remember  well  right  on  the 
front  page  was  a  letter  from  the  wife  of  Mayor  Rose  of  Los  Angeles, 
in  which  she  declared  it  was  perfectly  absurd  for  anybody  to  object 
to  such  a  play  as  that  on  the  grounds  that  it  led  to  immorality  and 
immodesty. 

It  seems  to  me,  brethren  and  sisters,  that  when  the  world  has 
reached  a  condition  like  that,  something  more  than  ordinary  safe¬ 
guards  must  be  thrown  about  our  children.  They  must  be  fortified 
against  these  encroachments  of  impurity  and  immorality,  which 
come  in  such  insidious  ways  and  which  are  all  about  them,  in  the 
very  atmosphere. 


186 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Another  thing  which  has  greatly  stirred  my  mind  as  to  the  impor¬ 
tance  and  necessity  of  doing  something  along  this  line,  aside  from  per¬ 
sonal  experience  for  many  years  in  studying  the  matter  because  of  a 
love  for  the  children,  and  a  desire  to  help  them  where  they  needed 
help, —  is  an  experience  I  once  had  in  a  sanitarium.  I  knew  something 
of  the  conditions  that  existed  among  the  boys;  I  knew  a  great  deal 
of  it.  I  saw  young  girls  brought  to  the  sanitarium  who  had  lost  their 
mind  from  impurity  and  vice.  They  came  from  supposedly  good 
Seventh-day  Adventist  homes.  I  have  seen  a  great  deal  of  it  since 
then,  more  and  more  all  the  time. 

Now,  my  dear  friends,  there  are  thousands  and  thousands  on  the 
same  road,  and  some  one  needs  to  get  hold  and  help  them  now,  where 
they  are.  Every  one  thinks  that  if  such  wise  and  beautiful  instruc¬ 
tion  can  be  given  to  all  these  little  children  as  Professor  Lewis  de¬ 
scribed  in  his  paper,  and  as  this  mother  in  North  Dakota  gave,  the 
difficulty  would  be  removed.  But  it  is  not  given.  Those  who  are 
close  to  the  children  and  know  anything  about  their  inner  life,  know 
that  it  is  not  being  given,  and  we  have  got  to  do  something. 

I  remember  some  years  ago  visiting  one  of  our  church  schools,  a 
large  church  school  in  the  city,  where  there  were  two  teachers.  I 
noticed  two  boys,  perhaps  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  of  age.  During 
the  intermission  they  were  together.  I  stepped  into  one  of  the  side 
rooms,  and  noticing  a  note  on  the  floor,  picked  it  up  and  read  it.  It 
fairly  stunned  me.  It  was  one  of  the  most  vile  and  obscene  things 
I  had  ever  seen,  written  by  some  boy.  I  immediately  decided  who 
did  it. 

So  when  I  had  a  good  chance,  after  the  meeting  closed  that  after¬ 
noon,  I  invited  those  two  boys  to  wait  and  we  would  have  a  visit. 

1  sat  down  alone  with  them,  and  I  said:- — 

“Boys,  you  each  have  a  sister  here  in  the  school,  haven’t  you?” 

“Yes,  sir.”  . 

“Pretty  good  girls,  too,  aren’t  they?” 

“Yes,  sir,  they  are.” 

“Don’t  you  think  a  good  deal  of  them?  Wouldn’t  you  feel  hurt 
if  some  young  fellow  should  come  along  and  insult  them,  and  say  a 
lot  of  nasty,  wicked,  vile  stuff  to  them?” 

Yes,  they  would. 

“Well,”  said  I,  “now,  boys,  I  found  a  note  here  on  the  floor,  and 
it  had  some  vile,  bad  stuff,  and  it  might  have  fallen  into  some  girl's . 
hands.  I  think  maybe  it  was  meant  for  some  girl  here  in  the  school.” 

They  looked  significantly  at  each  other. 

“I  am  sure  you  would  feel  bad  to  have  that  fall  into  the  hands  of 
your  sister,  wouldn’t  you?” 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


187 


"Yes.  sir.” 

"Now  don’t  you  think  you  ought  to  have  just  as  much  care  for 
the  sister  of  some  other  boy  as  you  would  want  him  to  feel  for  your 
sister?  You  want  to  protect  your  sister  from  anything  so  vile  and 
filthy  as  that.  Don’t  you  think  you  ought  to  protect  some  other 
boy’s  sister?” 

Well,  I  had  a  good  talk  with  the  boys,  and  they  admitted  the  wrong 
of  it,  and  agreed  that  they  would  never  do  it  again,  and  all  that. 
But  this  is  just  an  illustration  of  the  experiences  that  are  to  be  met 
all  the  time. 

My  friends,  I  have  seen  church  schools  where  there  was  the  gross¬ 
est  immorality  among  the  children.  I  don’t  mean  vice,  I  mean  im¬ 
morality;  and  yet  in  some  of  these  schools,  the  teacher  knew  nothing 
about  it,  nobody  seemed  to  know  about  it,  and  1  could  not  say  any¬ 
thing  about  it. 

Now  it  seems  to  me  that  in  some  way  or  other  we  ought  to  edu¬ 
cate  the  teachers  and  young  people’s  workers  so  that  they  will  wake 
up  and  make  a  special  study  of  this  subject,  and  be  able  to  help  these 
young  people  and  children.  Shall  we  know  -a  question  of  such  im¬ 
portance,  and  one  which  affects  many  more  of  our  young  people,  1 

am  satisfied,  than  the  majority  of  us  have  any  idea  of,  and  ignore  it, 
or  do  nothing  for  fear  of  making  it  worse?  or  shall  we  do  something? 

I  have  talked  on  this  subject  during  the  last  few  years  in  three  of 
our  colleges  and  a  great  number  of  our  academies.  I  have  talked 
with  the  young  men  privately  and  publicly,  and  I  have  never  talked 
on  a  subject  which  seemed  to  be  so  deeply  appreciated.  Only  a  few 
days  ago  here,  a  young  man  of  perhaps  sixteen  came  to  me  after  one 

of  these  talks,  and  he  gripped  my  hand  hard.  I  looked  into  his  eyes, 

and  the  tears  stood  there  as  he  said,  "Brother  MacGuire,  I  thank 
you  for  that  talk.”  And  he  turned  around  and  walked  off.  But  I 
knew  there  was  a  great  deal  in  that.  It  meant  more  than  if  he  had 
talked  half  an  hour.  I  am  sure  there  are  scores  like  that.  They 
want  instruction.  They  want  it  at  home,  but  they  do  not  get  it. 

Only  the  other  night  one  of  the  finest  young  men  that  I  have  met 
in  any  of  our  schools  said  to  me,  “Are  you  busy?”  "Not  especially,” 
I  replied.  "Come  over  to  my  room,”  he  said.  We  went  over  to 
his  room  and  sat  down,  and  he  said,  "I  should  like  to  talk  to  you 
about  a  problem.  I  have  never  talked  to  any  one  in  my  life  before.” 
So  he  told  me  his  problem. 

Brethren  and  sisters,  we  ought  to  be  in  the  position  where  these 
boys  and  girls  who  are  in  the  way  to  bring  lifelong  sorrow  and  dis¬ 
tress  and  discouragement  and  oftentimes  ruin  to  themselves, —  we 
ought  to  be  where  they  can  come  to  us  and  where  we  can  get  to  them. 


188 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Now,  I  am  inclined  to  differ  with  one  statement  in  the  paper  with 
regard  to  the  method  of  approaching  this  subject  with  the  boys  and 
girls,  of  taking  them  always  one  by  one  and  alone.  It  has  been  my 
serious  experience  and  observation  that  while  I  think  it  would  be  best 
to  take  the  girls  one  by  one  and  alone,  it  is  more  advisable  to  take 
the  boys  in  a  company.  When  boys  are  together  in  wrong  habits, 
and  then  they  are  talked  to  together,  high  ideals  being  placed  before 
them,  with  true  standards  of  purity  and  modesty,  of  physical  purity, 
each  one  acts  as  a  check  upon  the  others.  The  suggestions  that  were 
made  for  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Department  to  prepare  literature, 
are  good,  and  it  seems  to  me  it  ought  to  be  done  very  soon.  The  Cor¬ 
respondence  School  would  be  doing  a  grand  work  if  it  could  provide 
something  that  would  be  a  help  to  parents.  I  know  that  a  great 
many  parents  are  anxious  for  help.  They  do  not  know  how  rightly 
to  instruct  their  children,  and  I  think  that  instruction  given  through 
this  channel  would  be  better  than  simply  a  book.  And  then  I  think 
our  people  should  be  encouraged  to  study  the  Testimonies  on  this 
question.  I  refer  now  to  the  question  of  social  ethics, —  of  the  rela¬ 
tion  of  young  men  and  young  women  to  each  other, —  the  question  of 
sentimentalism  and  familiarity,  and  all  that,  which  lead  to  a  great 
deal  of  wrong  living,  and  even  to  physical  ruin.  Then  I  think  we 
could  do  a  great  deal  by  reforming  ourselves,  and  by  having  heart- 
to-heart  talks  with  the  parents  on  these  lines.  It  is  not  something 
to  be  avoided,  as  we  have  seemed  to  think  in  the  past.  We  must 
grapple  with  this  question. 

I  heard  one  of  our  most  prominent  workers  say  that  he  believed 
that  the  halting  up-and-down  experience  of  many  of  our  young  people 
was  due  largely  to  impurity.  And  I  believe  it. 

Now  I  think  a  great  deal  of  help  can  come  to  the  young  people 
by  talking  to  them  in  a  kind,  sympathetic  way  about  the  question  of 
association.  In  the  different  schools  where  I  have  been  I  have  felt 
that  my  talks  were  greatly  appreciated.  I  remember  when  I  talked 
to  the  students  in  one  school  on  this  question  of  association,  the 
faculty  in  the  school,  or  some  member  of  the  faculty,  told  me 
they  were  having  quite  a  little  trouble  over  the  fact  that  there 
were  a  number  of  couples  in  the  school  who  were  engaged,  and 
that  they  considered  themselves  entitled  to  certain  privileges  and 
liberties,  and  thought  it  proper  for  them  to  run  out  together  and  to 
indulge  in  embracing  and  kissing  and  those  things;  and  the  faculty 
wanted  me  to  say  something  about  it.  So  I  talked  with  these  young 
men  about  it  in  a  perfectly  frank  and  nice  way.  I  said  that  I  had 
heard  of  one  young  man  who  was  engaged  fifteen  times  before  he  was 
sixteen  years  of  age.  Now,  if  an  engagement  means  so  little,  and  if 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


189 


it  entitles  young  people  to  these  familiarities,  where  will  that  lead? 
As  Dr.  Hall  says,  a  girl  that  is  all  things  to  all  men  will  very  soon  be 
nothing  to  anybody.  I  said  to  these  students,  “Would  you  like  to 
think  of  your  sister  as  permitting  all  these  familiarities,  embracing 
and  kissing  any  young  man  that  comes  along?  Would  you  not  feel 
humiliated?  If  you  do  not  want  your  sister  to  do  that,  then  do  you 
think  it  right  to  encourage  it  in  other  boys’  sisters?”  And  I  have 
found  invariably,  whenever  young  men  talked  to  me  at  all  about  it, 
that  they  have  said,  “That  is  the  right  principle.  I  have  never  seen 
it  that  way  before.  I  think  that  is  fine,  and  I  purpose  to  follow  it.” 

I  think  we  have  the  finest  young  men  and  women  in  the  world, 
and  they  are  going  to  be  called  upon  to  do  the  noblest  and  most  heroic 
work  of  any  young  people  in  the  world ;  but  I  think  that  here  is  a  prob¬ 
lem  that  we  must  definitely  grapple  with,  and  I  think  that  every  one 
of  us  must  consider  it.  Perhaps  it  is  not  some  hysterical  move  that 
we  need,  but  every  one  of  us  must  wake  up,  and  open  our  eyes,  and 
inform  ourselves,  and  take  hold  of  the  situation,  get  at  the  root  of  it; 
we  must  get  hold  of  these  young  people,  and  put  the  right  ideals  of 
modesty  and  purity  before  them,  and  I  believe  we  can  help  them. 

Matilda  Erickson:  I  am  very  much  interested  in  this  subject. 
I  tried  to  beg  off  from  this  discussion,  because  I  feel  that  I  can  add 
nothing  that  would  be  a  help.  I  am  sure  you  all  know  a  great  deal 
more  about  it  than  I  do.  But  I  want  to  speak  of  it  from  the  stand¬ 
point  of  the  young  people’s  work. 

I  think  every  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary  should  be  prepared 
to  help  the  parents  and  the  young  people  wherever  he  or  she  goes. 
I  have  not  done  very  much  field  work,  but  in  the  little  I  have  done  I 
have  learned  that  there  is  perhaps  no  other  person  that  needs  more 
help,  outside  of  the  parents,  than  the  church-school  teacher.  Again 
and  again  church-school  teachers  have  come  to  me  and  asked  me  for 
help.  So  I  think,  as  young  people’s  workers,  wherever  we  go  we 
should  be  prepared  to  give  the  parents  lists  of  good  helpful  literature 
that  will  be  of  use  to  them  in  teaching  the  children,  and  we  should 
be  a  help  to  the  church-school  teacher  who  must  step  in  now  and  then 
and  take  the  parent’s  place,  and  deal  with  the  boys  and  girls. 

I  think,  too,  that  we  should  make  it  a  point  to  remind  the  church- 
school  teacher  that  all  purity  work  in  the  church  school  should  be 
individual  and  personal.  Then  I  think  it  would  be  a  splendid  thing, 
as  our  young  people’s  workers  go  from  place  to  place,  to  be  prepared 
to  hold  parents’  meetings.  We  can  do  it  in  a  very  modest  way. 
They  are  our  helpers  in  building  up  this  young  people’s  work,  and 
we  want  to  be  their  helpers  in  passing  on  what  we  have  received 
from  others,  that  will  helpjthem. 


190 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


In  the  little  field  work  that  I  have  done  I  have  been  called  upon 
to  give  talks  to  girls  occasionally,  and  I  did  not  deal  with  the  subject 
quite  as  some  other  people  do.  I  feel  that  if  we  can  guard  against 
the  silent  forces  that  draw  our  young  people  down,  we  shall  be  able 
to  lift  them  up. 

Last  winter  I  heard  a  social  purity  lecturer,  and  she  emphasized 
several  good  points.  She  said  our  public  schools  are  sending  out  young 
people  with  wrong  ideals.  It  is  money,  money  at  any  cost,  and  it  is 
all  intellect  and  no  heart,  and  that  is  why  we  have  so  much  social 
impurity.  I  believe  the  things  for  us  to  do,  as  young  people’s  work¬ 
ers,  is  to  set  high  ideals  before  our  young  men  and  women.  I  like 
to  impress  the  girls,  when  I  work  with  them,  that  wherever  we  may 
choose  to  be  we  can  succeed  only  as  we  are  true  and  noble  women 
ourselves.  If  we  can  keep  their  eyes  on  that  goal,  it  will  be  the  great¬ 
est  of  all  safeguards,  aside  from  consecration. 

Judge  Lindsey  says  that  nine  tenths  of  the  social  impurity  comes 
from  ignorance.  I  think  there  is  not  a  purity  worker  anywhere  who 
does  not  count  that  as  one  of  the  main  causes  of  social  impurity. 
This  should  make  us  all  stand  on  the  side  of  these  workers,  on  the 
side  of  the  paper  we  have  heard  this  afternoon,  and  so  help  the  boys 
and  girls  with  whom  we  come  in  contact. 

I  heard  a  social  purity  lecturer  say  that  one  of  the  chief  contrib¬ 
uting  causes  of  the  downfall  of  our  boys  and  girls  today  is  the  songs 
they  sing.  If  we  could  clear  the  pianos  in  some  of  our  Seventh-day 
Adventist  homes  from  some  of  the  songs  that  are  there,  We  should 
do  a  good  deed  in  the  social  purity  cause.  In  studying  the  matter  of 
social  purity,  I  find  that  light  reading  is  considered  one  of  the  chief 
causes  of  impurity.  I  think  if  we  can  get  our  young  people  interested, 
as  we  are  trying  to  do,  in  reading  good  books,  we  shall  find  it  one  of 
their  greatest  safeguards.  As  to  amusements,  one  of  the  leaders  in 
the  purity  federation  says  that  moving  picture  shows  and  theaters  are 
not  safe  places  for  young  people,  because  they  drag  so  many  down. 

I  really  think  the  girls  and  the  young  women  hold  a  large  place 
in  the  social  purity  question,  that  the  responsibility  upon  them  is 
heavier  than  upon  the  young  men  or  upon  the  boys;  and  when  I  talk 
with  them,  I  lay  great  stress  upon  the  dress  question.  I  shall  not 
forget  a  lecture  by  Frances  Willard  on  the  simplicity  of  dress  and  its 
relation  to  social  purity.  I  believe  we  should  emphasize,  greatly  em¬ 
phasize,  among  our  girls  and  young  women,  the  imperative  need  of 
simple  and  modest  attire.  In  a  leaflet  on  social  purity  it  was  stated 
that  unless  there  is  a  radical  change  among  our  young  people  on  the 
dress  question,  there  is  little  hope  of  making  progress  in  social  purity 
and  the  social  purity  cause. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


19.1 


As  has  been  said,  we  need  definite  instruction  on  the  association 
of  the  sexes.  But  girls  can  hurt  one  another  very  much  if  they  are 
careless  in  their  association  with  one  another.  I  think  we  need  to  in¬ 
spire  them  to  have  always  high  ideals  before  them.  A  while  ago 
I  read  of  what  was  called  the  “big  brother  movement.”  A  few 
years  ago  one  of  my  Sabbath  school  girls  came  to  me  and  told  me 
some  things  that  made  me  almost  broken  hearted.  When  I  got  through 
with  that,  I  resolved  that  I  was  going  to  originate,  all  by  myself, 
a  big  sister  movement.  I  think  that  there  ought  to  be  big  sisters 
among  the  girls,  always  ready  to  help. 

There  is  nothing  that  will  inspire  a  young  boy  so  much  as  to  have 
confidence  in  the  young  women,  and  to  know  that  we  are  striving 
to  be  pure. 

I  should  like  to  emphasize  the  thought  that  we  should  be  prepared 
to  give  instruction  concerning  the  safeguards  of  social  purity,  be  pre¬ 
pared  to  help  the  parents.  They  need  our  sympathy  and  all  the  help 
we  can  give  them. 

Last  but  not  least,  may  we  all  be  able  to  keep  the  purity  of  our 
own  lives,  never  to  make  any  mistake  in  any  of  the  little  things,  so 
that  we  can,  by  the  grace  of  God,  help  others. 

M.  E.  Kern:  I  hope  that  in  our  schools  and  in  our  young  people’s 
work  we  may  do  more  along  this  line  than  we  have  ever  done  before. 
As  has  been  emphasized,  we  should  all  be  examples  of  what  we  teach. 
I  think  the  things  that  have  been  said  here  are  not  out  of  place. 

There  was  a  man  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  who  told  Dr.  Hall  that  if 
he  ever  went  to  hell,  it  would  be  because  of  the  dress  of  modern  women. 
I  am  sorry  that  all  of  this  is  not  outside  of  our  own  ranks.  I  hope 
that  we  may  be  able,  in  our  parents’  meetings  and  in  separate  groups, 
among  the  boys,  at  least,  when  the  time  seems  opportune,  to  do  some¬ 
thing  along  these  lines. 


EXTENDING  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  OUR  SCHOOLS 


I.  H.  EVANS 

This  is  my  last  study.  I  thought  I  would  consider  the  question 
of  extending  our  school  influences  to  the  homes  of  the  people.  1 
believe  that  our  Saviour  was  deeply  interested  in  the  home  life  of  the 
people,  because  I  find  him  continually  manifesting  this  tendency 
while  here,  as  recorded  in  the  Gospels. 

In  the  eighteenth  chapter  of  Matthew  we  read  that  our  Saviour 
called  a  little  child  and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  the  disciples  and  those 
about,  and  then  drew  a  very  important  lesson  from  the  child.  You 
will  remember  the  incident  —  it  is  in  the  first  six  verses  of  this  chap¬ 
ter:  — 

“At  the  same  time  came  the  disciples  unto  Jesus,  saying,  Who 
is  the  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven?  And  Jesus  called  a  little 
child  unto  him,  and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  said,  Verily 
I  say  unto  you,  Except  ye  be  converted,  and  become  as  little  children, 
ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Whosoever  therefore 
shall  humble  himself  as  this  little  child,  the  same  is  greatest  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  And  whoso  shall  receive  one  such  little  child  in 
my  name  receiveth  me.  But  whoso  shall  offend  one  of  these  little  ones 
which  believe  in  me,  it  were  better  for  him  that  a  millstone  were 
hanged  about  his  neck,  and  that  he  were  drowned  in  the  depth  of 
the  sea.” 

This  scripture  does  not  show  simply  how  Christ  dealt  with  the 
home  life,  but  also  that  he  was  interested  in  the  child  life  of  the  people 
in  his  day.  I  think  no  one  can  read  the  life  of  Christ  without  being 
impressed  that  he  really  loved  children  and  took  a  deep  personal 
interest  in  them. 

This  morning  I  wish  to  suggest  some  things  that  I  should  be  glad 
to  see  undertaken  in  our  school  work. 

When  you  study  the  visits  of  Christ  to  the  homes  of  Lazarus 
and  others,  and  learn  how  he  talked,  and  when  you  find  him  in  the 
home  of  Peter  and  of  Simon  and  of  other  men,  you  will  know  that 
Christ  did  take  a  deep  interest  in  the  home  life  of  the  people.  Our 
school  work,  as  it  is  organized  and  as  it  is  presented  to  us  under  modern 
conditions,  is  not  the  same  that  prevailed  in  the  time  of  Christ.  The 
methods  employed  are  in  a  large  measure  foreign  to  anything  known 
in  Bible  times.  A  teacher  —  a  real  teacher  —  ought  not  to  be  simply 
an  instructor  of  the  children  that  are  sent  to  him,  but  he  should  be 
more,  —  he  should  enter  deeply  into  the  life  of  the  community 
represented  in  his  work.  I  have  long  believed  that  our  colleges  do 

192 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


193 


not  exert  the  extended  influence  they  ought  to  exert  among  our  people. 
They  seem  to  fall  short  of  the  ideal,  and  I  would  that  I  could  stir  up 
our  minds  to  the  idea  of  extending  our  work  in  a  more  definite  manner 
for  the  uplifting  of  the  masses  of  our  people. 

I  do  not  know  why  our  school  work  should  be  confined  to  the  youth 
of  our  denomination.  I  do  not  know  why  we  should  think  that  we 

have  to  spend  many  thousands  of  dollars  for  simply  the  boys  and 

girls.  Certainly  we  ought  to  do  that,  but  I  think  it  is  possible  for 
our  school  activities  to  be  extended  and  their  usefulness  greatly 
multiplied  by  reaching  into  the  home  life  of  our  people  in  the  ter¬ 
ritories  where  these  schools  are  situated.  We  miss  a  great  deal  in 

our  school  work  by  the  lack  of  knowledge  on  the  part  of  our  teachers 
of  the  home  life  of  the  children  and  youth  who  come  to  them  for 
instruction. 

We  have  shaped  our  schools  a  great  deal  after  the  schools  about 
us.  We  have  grown  up  in  the  midst  of  a  public  school  system,  which, 
I  believe,  is  a  splendid  system.  I  never  hear  any  one  speak  against 
our  public  school  system  but  it  makes  my  blood  boil.  I  don’t  believe 
it  is  right  to  denounce  the  public  schools.  They  are  one  of  the  great¬ 
est  blessings  that  have  come  to  humanity,  aside  from  religion.  If 
you  should  take  out  of  this  world  three  things  that  would  be  the 
greatest  calamity  to  the  whole  citizenship  of  our  country,  in  my 
opinion  the  greatest  misfortune  would  come  from  taking  our  religion, 
our  public  schools,  and  the  press.  Why  should  we,  as  teachers  and 
leaders  of  public  education,  denounce  a  system  that  has  uplifted 
such  multitudes,  enlarged  their  vision,  and  given  them  a  new  view 
of  life,  as  our  public  schools  have  done?  I  believe,  therefore,  that 
we  ought  not  to  denounce  our  public  schools,  but  to  talk  about  our 
own  schools. 

Our  schools  are  for  Seventh-day  Adventist  children,  and  they 
are  organized,  not  because  they  are  better  and  stronger  than  the 
public  schools  in  the  teaching  of  science,  or  art,  or  literature,  or  music, 
but  because  they  make  Seventh-day  Adventists  of  our  children; 
and  I  believe  that  the  definite  aim  in  running  Seventh-day  Adventist 
schools  should  be  to  educate  our  own  people  so  that  when  they  have 
received  their  training,  they  will  still  believe  the  third  angel’s  message, 
believe  in  the  Word  of  God,  and  be  true  Christians.  Therefore  I 
am  heartily  in  favor  of  our  schools,  not  because  I  am  opposed  to  the 
public  schools,  but  because  I  do  not  think  that  the  public  schools 
can  make  Seventh-day  Adventists.  Our  denominational  schools 
should  point  their  whole  efforts  toward  teaching  Christ  and  training 
boys  and  girls  for  the  kingdom  of  God. 


13 


104 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


But  I  wanted  to  talk  this  morning  about  extending  this  influence. 
A  teacher  is  at  a  very  great  disadvantage  if  he  is  absolutely  ignorant 
of  the  home  life  of  the  boys  and  girls  he  teaches.  He  has  no  way  of 
knowing  what  the  father  and  mother  are  like.  He  does  not  know 
what  the  boy  or  girl  is  used  to.  Of  course  in  our  present  rush  method 
of  working  our  teachers  as  hard  as  we  do,  it  is  almost  impossible 
for  them  to  become  acquainted  with  the  home  life  of  the  students. 
But  it  always  makes  a  great  difference  to  me  in  my  work  as  a  preacher 
when  I  become  acquainted  with  the  environment  and  conditions 
that  people  live  in  when  they  are  at  home.  I  think  that  must  be 
true  of  every  one  of  you  as  teachers. 

I  have  seen  boys  and  girls,  as  I  have  traveled  about,  and  I  formed 
my  opinion  of  them;  but  as  soon  as  I  went  into  their  homes  and  saw 
the  conditions  under  which  they  were  brought  up,  I  modified  my 
views  a  great  deal.  I  changed  my  ideas  of  what  those  boys  and 
girls  were  or  could  be,  or  what  we  could  make  out  of  them.  The 
gathering  of  boys  and  girls  into  our  schools  is  an  unnatural  situation, 
to  say  the  least.  God  ordained  the  home,  and  we  are  taking  these 
boys  and  girls  out  of  their  homes  to  educate  them,  because,  we  say, 
we  can  do  it  better  than  the  fathers  and  mothers  can.  There  is  no 
other  reason  on  earth  why  you  should  call  my  boy  out  of  my  home 
except  that  you  can  train  him  better  than  I  can.  That  being  the 
case,  I  think  it  is  necessary,  before  you  can  teach  my  boy  or  deal 
with  him  as  he  ought  to  be  dealt  with,  for  you  to  know  me  and  my 
wife.  You  ought  to  become  acquainted  with  us,  and  know  what 
kind  of  child  you  have  to  deal  with. 

I  know  the  public  schools  do  not  deal  that  way  at  all.  Our  mili¬ 
tary  schools  publish  in  public  print  the  number  of  credits  or  dis¬ 
credits  a  boy  gets  a  month.  In  Annapolis  or  West  Point,  if  he  gets 
one  hundred  discredits,  he  is  dismissed  without  any  recourse  what¬ 
ever,  and  no  opportunity  of  being  reinstated.  This  record  is  printed 
on  slips  and  passed  out  so  every  boy  may  know  it.  The  discredits 
are  given  for  any  irregularities,  such  as  appearing  in  public  with 
boots  unblacked  or  with  dirty  linen.  That  would  count  perhaps 
five  discredits.  It  may  be  the  cadet  has  not  put  his  sword  or  gun 
in  proper  shape,  or  he  does  not  salute  his  superior  officer  in  proper 
form.  They  do  not  reprimand  the  boy  for  any  of  these  things,  but 
they  let  his  discredits  accumulate,  and  when  he  has  one  hundred  he 
is  dismissed  and  sent  home.  That  is  an  arbitrary  way  of  dealing 
with  students.  There  is  no  personal  talk,  no  interview,  no  trying  to 
reach  the  heart  of  the  boy  at  all.  That  is  military  rule.  The  boys, 
have  to  take  their  chances  on  getting  through. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


195 


Christian  schools  cannot  be  run  that  way.  It  seems  to  me  the 
better  way  for  teachers,  in  order  to  be  able  to  deal  intelligently  and 
successfully  with  the  student  body  and  the  student  life,  is  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  parents  of  the  children  just  as  far  as  possible. 
That  means  a  great  deal  of  responsibility,  to  be  sure,  but  I  think  it 
is  a  very  great  essential  for  every  teacher,  as  far  as  possible,  to  get 
into  the  home  life  of  every  boy  and  girl  that  comes  to  the  school 
for  instruction. 

There  are  some  things  I  should  like  to  see  our  schools  undertake 
for  the  parents  in  the  territories  that  the  schools  represent.  I  would 
speak  especially  of  our  colleges,  and  then,  in  descending  order,  of 
our  other  schools,  reaching  clear  down  to  the  church  schools. 

First,  I  believe  we  ought  to  start  a  campaign  to  help  our  people 
to  appreciate  children.  That  may  seem  like  a  peculiar  thing;  but 
if  we  knew  how  many  unwelcome  children  there  are  in  this  world, 
we  should  not  be  astonished  that  so  many  go  astray.  I  think  one 
of  the  most  difficult  things  a  child  has  to  do  is  to  meet  the  conditions 
imposed  upon  him  by  his  parents  in  not  desiring  him  to  be  born 
into  this  world.  It  is  a  very  great  misfortune  in  any  child’s  life  to 
be  born  into  this  world  when  neither  parent  wished  him  to  be  born. 
You  say,  “Is  that  possible?”  I  suppose,  my  friends  that  you  are 
as  intelligent  on  that  as  I  am;  if  you  are,  you  know  that  this  is  the 
case  with  many  a  poor  child  who  comes  into  this  world  without  any 
choice  of  his  own.  I  hold  that  such  a  child  is  placed  at  a  very  great 
disadvantage.  Timidity,  embarrassment,  and  a  feeling  of  depression 
and  loneliness  will  follow  him,  probably,  as  long  as  he  lives.  Our 
people  ought  to  be  taught  that  children  are  the  gift  of  God,  and  that 
parentage  is  the  highest  privilege  in  this  world.  When  this  is  ap¬ 
preciated,  there  will  be  a  great  change  in  this  respect. 

There  ought  to  be  carried  forward  in  our  school  territories  a 
campaign  on  the  responsibility  of  parenthood.  We  cannot  do  that 
from  the  central  department  alone.  Never  can  we  reach  the  masses 
of  our  people  through  a  department  in  Christian  Educator  or  in  the 
Review  and  Herald.  I  should  like  to  see  our  schools  so  organized 
that  they  can  carry  on  such  a  campaign.  It  is  sad  to  say  that  there 
are  many  fathers  and  mothers  who  give  greater  care  and  more  thought 
to  their  live  stock  than  to  their  children.  They  think  more  of  giving 
their  stock  proper  care  and  feeding  and  getting  them  in  shape  for 
market  exhibition,  than  they  really  do  of  bestowing  a  good  heritage 
on  their  children.  Really  it  is  an  awful  pity  for  our  boys  and  girls 
to  be  brought  up  under  these  conditions. 

The  camp  meeting  is  not  the  place  to  reach  these  people,  because 
only  the  better  class  of  our  people  attend  camp  meetings.  There 


196 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


ought  to  be  a  good  lecture  course  arranged.  You  ought  to  go  out 
into  the  homes  in  all  our  churches,  and  talk  to  the  people  on  the 
responsibilities  of  parenthood.  Tell  them  that  God  will  hold  them 
responsible  for  the  souls  of  their  children,  for  their  training,  for  their 
usefulness  in  society.  Set  before  them  the  possibilities,  both  for 
good  and  for  evil;  tell  them  what  can  be  done  for  their  children,  if 
the  parents  will  set  themselves  to  train  them  for  God  and  for  his 
service. 

More  attention  ought  to  be  paid  to  the  training  of  children  in 
the  home.  I  do  not  know  that  there  is  any  one  in  our  denomination 
giving  special  attention  to  this.  We  preachers  hardly  dare  to  do  it, 
because  our  own  children  are  so  bad.  I  think  I  never  in  my  life 
gave  a  lecture  on  child  training,  and  surely  I  would  not  feel  my¬ 
self  competent  to  do  it;  but  you  are  professors,  that  is  what  you  pose 
for,  what  you  are  trained  for;  and  therefore  it  does  seem  to  me  that 
it  behooves  you  to  prepare  courses  of  instruction  on  child  training. 
I  am  sure  that  of  all  people  the  preacher  is  the  least  qualified.  I 
remember  that  for  fifteen  years  in  succession  I  was  never  with  my  fam¬ 
ily  for  three  weeks  consecutively.  It  is  impossible  to  train  a  family 
in  that  way.  But  you  professors  are  graduates  in  the  school  of  train¬ 
ing,  you  have  studied  everything  that  pertains  to  child  training. 
I  believe  you  ought  to  extend  your  influence  beyond  the  schoolroom 
to  the  home.  You  bring  these  boys  and  girls  together  in  the  school 
and  teach  them,  but  as  has  been  mentioned  here  a  number  of  times, 
you  are  thus  reaching  only  about  fifty  per  cent  of  our  boys  and  girls. 
I  think  we  ought  to  start  a  campaign  to  get  the  other  fifty  per  cent, 
or  as  large  a  per  cent  as  we  can,  into  our  schools. 

If  we  could  get  even  thirty  per  cent  into  our  schools  for  training, 
we  might  overcome  a  great  many  of  our  financial  difficulties.  Your 
deficits  would  rapidly  disappear  if  you  could  flood  your  schools  with 
thirty  per  cent  more  pupils  than  you  have  at  the  present  time.  I 
believe  it  is  for  the  financial  benefit  of  the  schools  to  enter  upon  a 
campaign  to  get  more  pupils. 

Lectures  should  be  given  among  our  people  on  prenatal  influences; 
and  who  should  give  these  lectures  if  not  our  professors?  We  cer¬ 
tainly  cannot  delegate  this  work  to  our  ministers.  We  are  press¬ 
ing  them  more  and  more  into  new  fields.  We  are  compelling  them, 
by  every  influence  that  we  can  bring  to  bear,  to  press  on  into  un¬ 
entered  territory.  They  are  evangelists;  they  must  give  their  thought 
to  that  line  of  work.  Our  schools  ought  to  be  the  educators  of  our 
people.  They  ought  to  follow  up  the  evangelists.  When  the  min¬ 
isters  bring  churches  into  existence,  then  our  schools  should  follow 
right  on  in  the  wake  of  the  evangelists,  and  set  a  course  of  training 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


197 


before  these  people  that  will  be  very  helpful.  There  is  a  great  deal 
of  importance  attached  to  prenatal  influence;  and  if  you  could  give 
lectures  and  draw  from  your  large  range  of  knowledge  the  influences 
of  this  education,  it  would  be  very  helpful  to  the  children  that  may 
be  born  in  the  days  to  come. 

Then  we  ought  to  give  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  educating 
parents  in  regard  to  the  influences  in  the  home, —  influences  whose 
effects  will  never  depart  from  the  child.  Many  of  our  people  do  not 
think  much  about  the  home  life.  They  are  working  year  in  and  year 
out  to  make  money.  They  get  up  at  four  o’clock  in  the  morning, 
and  their  whole  idea  is  to  work,  work,  work.  There  is  little  time 
for  prayer  or  Bible  study.  I  tell  you,  many  of  our  boys  and  girls 
live  under  high  pressure,  a  pressure  that  you  and  1  do  not  know  much 
about  until  we  get  into  the  home  life.  You  may  be  sure  that  those 
boys  and  girls  are  not  going  to  take  a  very  great  interest  in  education 
unless  there  is  an  awakening  in  that  home.  I  believe  it  belongs  to 
the  teachers  to  stay  that  tide  of  commercialism,  to  let  the  parents 
know  that  there  is  value  in  their  children,  as  well  as  in  raising 
wheat  and  corn. 

Until  you  can  stimulate  some  of  our  fathers  and  mothers  to  a 
different  method  of  thinking,  you  may  be  sure  that  their  boys  and  girls 
will  not  stay  with  us  when  they  come  into  manhood  and  womanhood. 
They  will  drive  as  hard  as  they  can  in  some  line  of  business,  and  so 
we  shall  lose  them. 

Then,  again,  I  think  our  people  ought  to  be  educated  respecting 
the  value  of  our  denominational  schools  to  themselves  and  to  their 
children.  We  are  guilty  before  the  Lord  in  many  cases  because  we 
do  not  hunt  out  those  whom  we  cannot  reach  at  camp  meetings.  If 
everybody  would  only  go  to  camp  meeting,  it  would  be  all  right; 
but  the  people  who  do  go  are  generally  the  ones  who  send  their  children 
to  our  schools.  They  are  the  givers,  the  helpers,  the  builders  of  our 
work.  But  it  is  true  that  there  is  a  large  element  that  does  not  go 
to  the  camp  meeting,  and  these  are  the  ones,  generally,  who  do  not 
patronize  our  schools.  I  never  could  believe  that  it  is  better  to  let 
a  child  grow  up  in  ignorance  than  to  send  him  to  the  public  schools; 
but  I  do  believe  that  our  people  ought  to  be  impressed  with  the 
difference  between  our  schools  and  their  object,  and  the  public  schools. 
I  do  not  see  why  we  need  to  decry  the  public  schools  in  order  to  praise 
our  own  schools;  I  would  not  say  one  word  against  the  public  schools; 
but  ours  are  better  for  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  founded, — 
to  train  our  own  boys  and  girls  so  that  when  they  come  out  of  school 
they  will  be  Christians,  Seventh-day  Adventists,  and  many  of  them 
workers  for  God. 


198  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 

It  does  seem  to  me  that  we  ought,  in  some  way,  to  get  at  the 
unreached  element  of  our  denomination.  Is  it  not  the  privilege 
of  our  college  presidents  and  their  faculties  to  set  in  operation  a  plan 
that  will  reach  the  homes  of  these  people  who  are  not  reached  by 
our  public  efforts?  I  would  suggest  that  we  divide  our  territory  up 
and  employ  all  our  teachers  who  have  ability  and  training  along 
this  line,  and  send  them  forth  during  the  summer  to  do  this  campaign 
work.  Then  let  these  teachers  not  simply  attend  camp  meetings, — 
which  is  all  right, —  but  go  into  the  very  homes  of  the  people  every¬ 
where,  and  get  acquainted  with  every  father  and  mother,  and  with 
every  son  and  daughter  who  ought  to  be  in  school,  and  do  every¬ 
thing  for  them  that  you  can.  I  do  not  think  any  school  board  could 
make  a  better  investment  than  to  send  their  teachers,  as  soon  as  they 
have  had  a  little  rest  after  the  hard  work  of  the  year,  right  out  into 
the  homes  to  do  personal  work.  It  would  fill  our  schools  and  it 
would  reach  the  fifty  per  cent  that  we  have  talked  so  much  about 
in  this  Council. 

Then,  too,  I  believe  that  our  schools  ought  to  be  very  active 
in  the  matter  of  placing  the  right  kind  of  literature  in  the  homes 
of  our  people,  for  both  the  parents  and  the  children.  I  know  we 
have  reading  courses  for  our  young  people,  and  we  have  reading 
courses  for  our  ministers;  but  really  there  is  a  large  element  of  influ¬ 
ential  people  that  we  do  not  reach  in  this  way.  Why  should  not  our 
schools  carry  on  a  campaign  for  parents,  in  educating  them  and 
helping  them  to  select  what  is  proper  and  helpful  for  them  to  read? 
A  man  can  confer  no  greater  favor  upon  a  friend  than  to  persuade 
him  to  read  a  good,  strong,  helpful  book. 

Many  of  the  parents  do  not  know  what  to  read.  They  have 
their  farm  paper,  a  magazine  or  two  of  a  worldly  character,  and  perhaps 
one  or  two  of  our  own  papers.  There  ought  to  be  a  strong  campaign 
on  this  question  of  good,  helpful  literature  that  would  arouse  their 
minds  and  awaken  them  to  a  great  deal  wider  vision  of  life  than 
they  now  have. 

You  say  that  ought  to  be  done  by  an  organization  outside  of  the 
school;  but  I  sometimes  feel  as  if  our  college  life  in  this  denomi¬ 
nation  ought  to  rise  to  a  higher  plane,  and  become  an  active  agent 
in  the  lives  of  our  young  people  as  an  educating  agency.  Why  should 
you  confine  yourselves  simply  to  educating  boys  and  girls  who  are 
sent  to  you,  and  never  do  anything  for  the  uplifting  of  the  people 
in  general? 

However,  I  think  there  should  be  great  wisdom  shown  in  the 
choice  of  literature.  Many  of  our  homes  are  woefully  destitute  of 
books.  For  the  last  few  years  I  have  not  been  in  the  homes  of  our 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


199 


people  very  much,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  because  of  being  in  a  different 
line  of  work;  but  I  have  been  in  many  and  many  a  home  in  my  earlier 
travels,  and  have  looked  for  the  most  common  books  to  read,  but 
could  not  find  them.  Some  homes  have  scarcely  any  books  at  all. 
I  think  it  is  an  awful  calamity  for  a  home  to  be  without  a  few  good 
books.  I  do  not  say  that  every  family  ought  to  have  hundreds  of 
them;  there  are  not  very  many  families  belonging  to  our  people  that 
are  able  to  afford  a  large  number;  but  I  think  t’here  are  very  few  fami¬ 
lies  so  poor  that  they  cannot  save  a  little  money  every  year  to  invest 
in  a  few  good  books.  If  you  can  help  a  family  to  buy  good  books, 
you  have  conferred  a  blessing  upon  that  family. 

Now  it  seems  to  me  that  inasmuch  as  in  the  seventy  years  of  our 
existence  as  a  people  we  have  never  done  this  thing  to  any  extent 
whatever,  if  our  schools  will  rise  up  and  take  hold  of  this  line  of 
work  and  feel  a  responsibility  for  helping  to  educate  our  laity  as  well 
as  our  boys  and  girls,  they  will  have  made  a  great  stride  in  advance. 

But  you  say  our  ministers  can  do  this.  But  our  ministers  have 
never  done  it  in  the  proper  way.  A  few  men  have  done  it,  but  the 
majority  of  our  ministers  have  never  done  very  much  in  this  line. 
The  extent  of  the  books  that  we  have  ever  sold  or  the  advice  we  have 
ever  given  generally  has  been  limited  to  the  reading  of  our  own  de¬ 
nominational  books. 

Every  family  of  Seventh-day  Adventists  ought  to  have  a  set  of 
the  Testimonies  in  their  home.  It  would  be  a  great  blessing.  You 
and  I  could  sit  down  together  and  make  out  a  list  of  five  to  ten  books, 

.  or  fifteen  to  twenty  books,  that  we  should  like  to  get  our  people  to 
read,  and  that  would  be  extremely  helpful  to  them.  I  read  a  book 
and  it  helps  me,  you  read  a  book  and  it  helps  you;  but  there  are  many 
men  in  your  community  who  read  practically  nothing  at  all,  except 
perhaps,  the  daily  paper.  There  are  not  many  things  in  the  daily 
paper  that  are  very  profitable  for  our  people  to  read.  It  is  infinitely 
better  for  them  to  read  a  good  book.  If  a  man  goes  at  it  properly, 
he  can  read  the  newspaper  in  half  an  hour,  and  get  all  there  is  out 
of  it  that  is  worth  while. 

Possibly  from  our  school  centers  we  ought  to  carry  on  a  campaign 
in  our  homes  by  lectures  and  by  every  means  possible,  teaching  clean¬ 
liness,  proper  dress,  manners  in  the  home,  and  thus  try  to  make 
our  homes  centers  of  refinement,  centers  where  it  is  a  pleasure  to  live. 
I  know  we  have  generally  left  to  the  sanitariums  this  duty,  but  our 
sanitariums  are  not  meeting  the  conditions,  they  are  not  doing  the 
work.  It  is  almost  impossible  today  to  get  a  doctor  to  go  out  into  the 
field  at  all.  He  wants  to  be  a  professional  man.  So  why  could 
not  our  teachers  take  hold  of  this  line  of  work,  and  carry  into  our 


200 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


homes  the  high  ideals  of  cleanliness,  proper  decorum,  healthful  dress, 
ventilation,  and  such  things  as  our  people  ought  to  know? 

Then  I  should  like  to  see  our  schools  give  lecture  courses  to  com¬ 
munities  of  Adventists.  You  cannot  do  it  all  at  once,  but  I  believe 
you  can  get  up  splendid  illustrated  lectures,  such  as  on  domestic 
science,  etc.,  that  would  not  cost  very  much,  and  which  would  be  a 
very  great  source  of  education  to  our  people. 

I  thank  the  Lord  that  some  of  our  schools  are  starting  this  work, 
and  I  believe  it  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction.  But  I  do  not  think 
it  is  enough  that  you  teach  the  children  who  are  sent  to  you.  I 
should  like  to  see  you  get  right  out  into  the  homes  of  the  people, 
and  by  illustrations  that  you  can  show  on  the  screen  present  to  them 
a  better  way  than  they  are  doing.  That  would  be  a  mighty  uplift 
to  our  people.  I  believe  you  will  never  find  a  more  hearty  welcome 
anywhere  than  in  our  churches  if  you  will  give  suitable  lectures  on 
these  lines,  that  will  be  elevating  and  helpful  to  our  fathers  and 
mothers. 

Now,  brethren,  I  do  believe  that  it  is  the  duty  of  our  schools 
to  undertake  a  larger  work  than  they  are  doing.  I  think  you  have 
narrowed  yourselves  down  because  you  have  not  seen  the  schools 
doing  this  kind  of  work.  I  think  you  are  aware  of  the  fact  that 
many  of  the  universities  are  launching  out  in  this  work.  They  are 
sending  lecturers  to  almost  every  rural  community  in  the  States, 
and  they  are  giving  lectures  on  agriculture,  domestic  science,  stock 
breeding,  stock  feeding,  and  all  kinds  of  work  on  the  farm  and  in 
the  home.  Why  should  our  people  have  to  go  to  the  world  to  get 
this  education?  I  believe  the  time  has  come  when  our  schools  should 
enlarge  their  fields  of  activity,  and  qualify  themselves,  by  thorough 
preparation,  by  study,  and  by  a  definite  purpose,  to  go  out  into  the 
churches,  to  our  people  everywhere,  lift  them  up  to  a  higher  plane, 
to  urge  them  and  persuade  them  that  there  is  a  better  way  to  live 
than  they  are  living,  to  impress  upon  them  the  responsibilities  and 
duties  of  parenthood,  and  to  help  them  to  send  their  children  to  our 
schools,  where  they  can  be  fitted  for  service  in  the  Master’s  work. 


EDUCATIONAL  RECOMMENDATIONS 


Greetings,  Condolences,  Pledges,  Liquor  Traffic 

i.  Voted,  To  adopt  the  report  of  the  committee  appointed  to  draft 
a  message  of  greeting  from  the  Council  to  Mrs.  E.  G.  White,  as  fol¬ 
lows:  — 


Mrs.  E.  G.  White , 

Sanita  Hum ,  Cal. 

Dear  Sister  White:  — 


The  delegates  of  the  Educational  and  Missionary  Volunteer 
Council  of  the  North  American  Division  Conference  assembled  at 
Pacific  Union  College  send  you  greetings.  We  are  very  sorry  that 
you  are  unable  to  meet  with  us  and  give  us  counsel.  But  we  are  glad 
to  know  of  your  deep  interest  in  our  young  people  and  your  efforts 
for  them,  even  during  your  illness.  In  our  counsels  we  are  endeavor¬ 
ing  to  follow  the  light  which  the  Lord  has  given  in  past  years  through 
your  ministry.  We  are  pledging  our  lives  anew  to  the  training  of 
our  children  and  youth  for  God’s  service. 

May  the  Lord  bless  you  richly  by  his  presence  and  give  you  hope 
and  confidence  in  God.  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  be  with  you 
In  behalf  of  the  Council, 


Frederick  Griggs 
M.  E.  Kern 
W.  E.  Howell 


( 


Committee 


2.  We  recommend ,  That  for  God’s  protecting  care  over  our  build¬ 
ings  and  property,  for  his  manifest  love  in  preserving  our  lives  and 
our  health,  and  for  his  tender  mercy  and  long  suffering  in  dealing  s‘o 
gently  with  our  mistakes,  we  not  only  express  to  our  heavenly  Father 
our  most  sincere  gratitude,  but  in  appreciation  of  all  this  blessing  we 
do  hereby  pledge  ourselves  to  more  earnest,  faithful,  self-sacrificing, 
sympathetic,  united  service  in  this  precious  work  until  it  is  finished. 

3.  Whereas ,  Since  last  assembling  in  general  convention,  God  in 
his  providence  has  permitted  to  be  laid  to  rest  two  of  our  beloved 
friends  and  fellow  teachers,  Mrs.  C.  C.  Lewis  and  Prof.  E.  D.  Kirby, 
who  for  many  years  have  labored  faithfully  and  untiringly  in  the  cause 
of  Christian  education;  therefore, — 

We  recommend ,  (a)  That  we  in  council  assembled,  while  bowing  in 
submission  to  that  which  a  loving  Father  has  permitted,  do  hereby 
express  to  the  bereaved  families  our  deepest,  most  heartfelt  sympathy. 

(b)  That  we  pledge  ourselves  to  emulate  their  noble  example  of 
loyalty  and  faithful  labor  by  lifting  still  higher  the  banner  of  truth 

201 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


202 


that  has  fallen  from  their  hands,  and  carrying  forward  to  a  triumphant 
termination  the  blessed  work  for  which  they  have  given  their  lives, 
so  that  when  it  is  finished  and  the  Life-giver  comes,  he  may  say  to 
them  and  to  us  all,  “Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  thou 
into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord.” 

4.  Voted,  To  adopt  the  following  preambles  and  resolution  on  the 
liquor  traffic:  — 

Whereas,  Intoxicating  liquor  is  one  of  the  greatest  crime-promoters 
in  America,  being  responsible  for  a  large  share  of  all  the  murders, 
brawls,  wife-beatings,  divorces,  accidents,  and  business  failures,  fill¬ 
ing  our  courts  with  criminal  cases,  our  jails  with  prisoners,  our  hos¬ 
pitals  and  infirmaries  with  patients,  our  orphanages  with  homeless 
children,  and  our  insane  asylums  with  inmates;  and, — 

Whereas,  Alcohol  is  a  poison  whose  use  weakens  men  and  women 
physically,  mentally,  and  morally,  unfitting  them  for  parenthood  or 
married  life,  and  whose  manufacture  and  sale  corrupt  politics,  pauper¬ 
ize  the  purchaser  and  his  family,  and  degrade  brewer,  saloon  owner, 
and  bartender,  besides  encouraging  all  forms  of  unmentionable  vice; 
and, — 

Whereas,  Experience  has  demonstrated  that  better  business  con¬ 
ditions  and  lower  taxes  come  with  prohibition;  therefore, — 

Be  it  resolved,  That  we,  the  representatives  of  the  Educational 
and  Missionary  Volunteer  Departments  of  the  Seventh-day  Adventist 
denomination,  in  convention  assembled,  hereby  protest  most  emphat¬ 
ically  against  the  legalized  manufacture  or  sale  of  intoxicating  liquor 
in  the  nation;  and  that  we  pledge  ourselves  by  voice,  pen,  and  vote, 
and  through  the  circulation  of  good  literature  upon  the  subject,  to 
wage  an  aggressive  campaign  throughout  the  land  in  an  earnest  en¬ 
deavor  to  remove  the  awful  liquor  curse.  To  this  end  we  invite  the 
hearty  cooperation  of  all  good  citizens. 


ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 
Name 

5.  Whereas,  The  term  “church  school”  naturally  applies  to  all 
grades  of  our  schools  from  the  primary  to  the  college;  and, — 

Whereas,  There  is  more  or  less  confusion  in  the  use  of  the  term 
“church  school”  as  applied  to  the  schools  supported  by  the  local 
churches;  therefore, — 

We  recommend,  That  the  term  “elementary  schools”  be  applied 
to  those  schools  carrying  eight  grades  or  less. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


20$ 

Financial  Policy 

.6.  (a)  Combined  Tuition  and  Pledge  Plan. 

Voted ,  That  we  recommend  our  elementary  school  boards  to 
pursue  substantially  the  following  financial  policy:  — 

(1)  To  take,  early  in  the  summer,  a  careful  census  of  all  children 
.  of  school  age. 

(2)  To  fix  a  tuition  rate  for  each  grade  in  the  school. 

(3)  To  make  a  careful  estimate  of  the  monthly  expense  of  con¬ 
ducting  the  school  on  the  basis  of  the  census,  the  tuition  rates,  the 
teacher’s  salary,  school  supplies,  repairs,  and  improvements. 

(4)  That  every  parent  be  urged  to  pay  the  tuition  of  his  own  chil¬ 
dren,  as  far  as  possible. 

(5)  That  in  cases  where  parents  cannot  pay,  other  members  of 
the  church  be  solicited  to  pay  the  equivalent  of  the  tuition  of  one  or 
more  children  each  month. 

(6)  That  other  members  be  invited  to  pledge  a  certain  amount 
each  month  for  the  upkeep  of  the  school  until  the  total  amount  paid 
in  tuition  and  pledges  exceeds  the  monthly  estimate  by  ten  per  cent. 

(7)  That  all  who  make  monthly  pledges  for  the  support  of  the 
school  be  encouraged  to  pay  them  twelve  months  in  the  year,  so  as 
to  create  a  surplus  during  the  summer  to  meet  the  extra  expense  in¬ 
cident  to  the  opening  of  school. 

(8)  That  no  Seventh-day  Adventist  child  in  the  church  be  deprived 
of  the  privileges  of  the  school  for  financial  reasons. 

(9)  That  a  financial  agent  be  appointed  to  solicit  and  collect 
pledges  and  keep  the  board  informed  on  the  financial  status  of  the 
school  from  month  to  month. 

(b)  All-Pledge  Plan. 

To  add  as  an  alternative  financial  policy  with  the  combined  tui¬ 
tion  and  pledge  plan,  that  of  making  the  school  expense  entirely  a 
general  church  affair. 

ACADEMIES 

Aim  of  Ten-Grade  Academies 

7.  That  we  earnestly  urge  our  ten-grade  academies  and  interme¬ 
diate  schools  to  make  it  their  chief  aim  thoroughly  to  ground  our  boys 
and  girls  in  the  common  branches  as  well  as  in  other  subjects. 

Uniform  Dress  for  Girls 

8.  Whereas,  There  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  many  of  our  stu¬ 
dents  to  follow  the  improper  fashions  of  the  world  in  the  matter  of 
dress;  and, — 


204 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Whereas ,  Many  students  of  limited  means  are  embarrassed  because 
of  the  extravagant  dress  of  the  more  wealthy, — 

We  recommend ,  That  the  faculties  of  our  advanced  schools  give 
favorable  consideration  to  the  matter  of  having  the  young  women 
dress  in  plain,  tasteful  uniforms. 

Qualifications  of  Teachers 

9.  That  our  academies  man  their  faculties  to  the  end  that  a  solid 
foundation  be  laid  in  the  education  of  the  student,  and  that  he  be 
inspired  with  a  determination  to  secure  the  best  qualifications  possible 
for  field  service,  especially  to  avail  himself  of  a  college  course. 

The  Ministry 

10.  That  our  academies  do  not  undertake  to  train  men  especially 
for  the  ministry,  but  encourage  them  to  make  the  ministry  their  aim. 


COLLEGES 

Qualifications  of  Teachers 

11.  That  our  colleges  man  their  faculties  as  far  as  possible  with 
men  and  women  who  have  had  a  successful  field  experience. 

12.  That  special  effort  be  made  to  secure  the  best  teachers  on  the 
faculty  for  the  ministerial  course,  including  such  lines  as  history  and 
the  languages,  and  if  necessary,  provide  funds  for  their  obtaining  the 
necessary  preparation. 

Ministerial  Courses 

13.  That  we  so  arrange  our  ministerial  courses  that  practical  field 
work  shall  be  required  for  graduation. 

Uniform  Dress  for  Girls 

See  Recommendation  No.  8. 

SPECIAL  SCHOOLS 
Foreign  Seminaries 

14.  Whereas,  By  the  establishment  of  the  German  Seminary  at 
Clinton,  Mo.,  the  Swedish  Seminary  at  Broadview,  Ill.,  and  the 
Danish-Norwegian  Seminary  at  Hutchinson,  Minn.,  since  our  Educa¬ 
tional  Convention  at  Berrien  Springs,  Mich.,  in  1910,  a  new  era  has 
begun  in  the  history  of  our  work  for  foreigners  in  America ;  therefore, — 

We  recommend,  (a)  That  we  hereby  express  our  thankfulness  to 
God  for  this  new  evidence  of  the  extension  of  the  work;  and  further, — 

(b)  That  we  welcome  these  foreign  seminaries  in  our  midst,  and 
that  we  hereby  pledge  our  hearty  support  to  the  furtherance  of  this 
work  among  the  foreigners  in  America. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


205 


Fireside  Correspondence  School 

15.  Whereas ,  The  Fireside  Correspondence  School  has  been  organ¬ 
ized  by  the  General  Conference  Department  of  Education  for  the 
purpose  of  helping  those  who  for  any  reason  are  prevented  from  at¬ 
tending  our  resident  schools;  therefore, — 

We  recommend ,  (a)  That  the  Correspondence  School  maintain,  by 
revision  of  its  lessons,  if  necessary,  the  same  high  standard  of  scholar¬ 
ship  as  that  of  our  resident  schools. 

(b)  That  the  Correspondence  School  cooperate  with  the  resident 
schools  by  avoiding,  wherever  possible,  the  enrollment  of  students  in 
correspondence  work  who  are  members  of  resident  schools,  except  by 
consent  of  their  faculties. 

(c)  That  the  certificates  of  the  Correspondence  School  be  accepted 
by  the  resident  schools  at  full  value,  for  subjects  up  to  one  half  the 
number  of  credits  required  for  graduation. 

(d)  That  our  teachers,  ministers,  and  educational  and  Missionary 
Volunteer  workers  encourage  our  young  people  to  take  work  in  the 
Correspondence  School  when  they  are  unable  to  attend  our  resident 
schools. 

(e)  That  our  ministers  and  other  missionary  workers  be  encour¬ 
aged  and  advised  to  avail  themselves  of  this  valuable  means  of  aid  in 
becoming  workmen  that  need  not  be  ashamed. 

Loma  Linda  College  of  Medical  Evangelists 

16.  Whereas ,  The  denomination  has  established  a  medical  training 
school,  known  as  the  College  of  Medical  Evangelists,  at  Loma  Linda, 
California;  and, — 

Whereas,  This  school  is  equipped  and  qualified  to  give  special  edu¬ 
cation  and  training  along  medical  missionary  lines;  and, — 

Whereas,  The  General  Conference  must  speedily  send  large  reen¬ 
forcements  into  heathen  lands  to  help  give  the  message;  therefore, — 

We  recommend,  (a)  That  this  Educational  Council  recognize  the 
College  of  Medical  Evangelists  as  the  denominational  training  school 
along  medical  and  medical  evangelistic  lines. 

(b)  That  we  encourage  all  our  young  people  who  are  taking  or 
planning  to  take  a  medical  course  or  a  medical  evangelistic  course,  to 
attend  this  school. 

(c)  That  the  General  Conference  be  requested  to  make  this  school 
a  training  school  for  missionary  appointees  whom  they  may  have 
selected  and  desire  to  put  in  training  for  medical  evangelistic  work. 

(d)  That  it  be  understood  that  the  foregoing  recommendation  does 
not  discriminate  against  the  Washington  Missionary  College  in  the 
training  of  medical  evangelistic  nurses. 


DIVISION  DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION 
Union  Conference  Educational  Organization 

1 7.  Voted ,  That  the  Union  Conference  Educational  Organization  of 
the  North  American  Division  Conference  he  readjusted  as  follows:  — 

(a)  That  the  educational  board  of  the  union  conference  consist 
of  the  union  educational  secretary,  the  superintendents  of  the  local 
conferences,  the  president  of  the  college,  the  director  of  the  normal 
department,  and 'the  principals  of  the  academies,  intermediate  schools, 
and  seminaries. 

(b)  That  the  union  conference  committee  be  advisory  members 
of  the  educational  board.  The  word  “advisory”  in  this  connection 
means  the  right  to  discuss  and  to  vote;  and  it  is  understood  that  in 
educational  matters,  as  in  all  union  affairs,  the  union  conference  com¬ 
mittee  is  the  final  committee  of  appeal. 

(c)  That  the  union  educational  secretary  be  chairman  of  the  edu¬ 
cational  board. 

(d)  That  there  be  an  Inspection  Committee  consisting  of  the  pres¬ 
ident  of  the  college,  the  union  educational  secretary,  and  the  super¬ 
intendent. 

(e)  That  it  be  the  duty  of  this  committee  to  examine  carefully  and 
inspect  annually  all  academic  work,  and  report  their  findings  to  the 
college  faculty  and  the  union  conference  educational  board,  and  recom¬ 
mend  a  rating  for  the  schools  inspected;  and  that  a  report  of  such 
rating,  together  with  the  necessary  information,  be  forwarded  to  the 
Division  Department  of  Education  for  final  approval,  and  that  the 
college  faculty  issue  the  rating. 

(f)  That  students  from  accredited  schools  be  admitted  to  the 
college  without  examination. 

(g)  That  the  basis  of  a  credit  be  the  academic  standards  adopted 
by  the  Division  Department  of  Education. 

(h)  That  the  Division  Department  prepare  an  inspector’s  report 
blank  for  the  use  of  the  Inspection  Committee,  embodying  the  items 
of  standardization. 

(i)  That  the  Division  Department  provide  final  examination  ques¬ 
tions  for  grammar  grades  in  all  elementary  schools,  and  in  all  grades 
in  unaccredited  secondary  schools,  to  be  accompanied  with  suggestive 
answers. 

(j)  That  final  examinations  in  the  first-semester  subjects  be  given 
at  the  middle  of  the  school  year;  and  final  examinations  in  second- 
semester  and  full-year  subjects  be  given  at  the  close  of  the  school 
year. 


206 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


207 


(k)  That  the  teacher  under  whom  the  final  examinations  up  to 
and  including  the  twelfth  grade  are  given,  mark  the  papers,  grading 
each  question,  and  send  them  to  the  superintendent,  who  shall  record 
the  approved  standings  in  his  own  book  and  in  the  teacher’s  register, 
and  forward  a  list  of  the  same  to  the  union  conference  secretary,  to¬ 
gether  with  all  final  ninth-  to  twelfth-grade  examination  papers  marked 
by  the  teacher  and  approved  by  himself  and  the  union  educational 
secretary,  who  shall  record  all  these  standings  above  the  eighth  grade. 

(l)  That  upon  receiving  a  final  grade  of  seventy-five  per  cent  or 
more,  the  student  be  granted  a  certificate  of  standing  in  that  subject, 
the  certificate  to  be  signed  by  the  chairman  of  the  examining  board 
and  the  superintendent.  In  making  up  final  standings,  half  credit 

-  shall  be  allowed  for  examination  and  half  credit  for  class  work. 

(m)  That  when  a  student  has  completed  the  eighth  or  unaccredited 
ninth  to  twelfth  grades,  and  has  passed  the  examinations,  the  union 
educational  secretary  issue  a  certificate  of  promotion,  signed  by  him¬ 
self  and  the  superintendent;  such  certificate  to  contain  the  specifi¬ 
cation  by  subject  “without  laboratory,”  “without  library,”  or  any 
other  feature  upon  which  the  school  does  not  have  accredited  standing. 

(n)  That  accredited  schools  send  a  list  of  all  final  standings  to  the 
union  secretary  for  recording,  within  four  weeks  after  examination. 

(o)  That  the  average  of  the  students’  work  and  class  standings,  as 
well  as  the  examination  grades,  be  marked  by  the  teachers  upon  the 
outside  of  examination  papers,  when  grading  either  elementary  or 
academic  papers,  thus  clearly  indicating  the  average  of  written  work 
and  class  standings,  in  addition  to  the  examination  standing. 

(p)  That  elementary  teachers  be  required  to  pass  examinations 
as  arranged  by  the  educational  board,  or  give  sufficient  evidence  of 
qualification,  before  being  employed  in  our  schools. 

(q)  That  the  union  educational  secretary  conduct  one  general 
teachers’  examination  annually,  in  connection  with  the  union  confer¬ 
ence  summer  school. 

(r)  That  other  examinations  than  those  conducted  at  the  summer 
school  be  given  under  the  direction  of  the  superintendent  on  a  date  to 
be  arranged  in  each  conference  by  the  union  educational  secretary. 

(s)  That  teachers’  examination  papers  be  graded  under  the  super¬ 
vision  of  the  superintendent,  and  then  examined  by  the  educational 
secretary  of  the  union,  who,  if  all  requirements  have  been  met,  shall 
sign  and  issue  appropriate  certificates,  which  must  also  be  signed  by 
the  superintendent  of  the  conference  in  which  the  applicant  is  to  teach. 

(t)  That  all  appeals  to  the  examining  board  be  made  through  the 
superintendent,  within  sixty  days  after  the  issue  of  any  certificate, 
or  after  notice  of  failure. 


208  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 

Sections  of  the  Division  Department 

1 8.  Whereas ,  For  years  there  has  been  a  recognized  lack  of  the 
benefits  coming  to  the  teachers  in  the  same  line  of  department  work 
in  our  colleges,  academies,  and  intermediate  schools,  from  association 
and  interchange  of  thought  and  experience  in  seeking  for  improvement 
in  methods  and  means  of  work;  and, — 

Whereas,  At  the  time  of  the  Berrien  Springs  convention  in  1910, 
in  an  effort  to  meet  this  need,  the  teachers  in  these  various  depart¬ 
ments  were  organized  into  sections,  having  as  sole  officer  a  secretary, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  act  as  the  medium  of  communication  between 
the  members  of  the  section,  to  appoint  committees  when  necessary 
for  the  carrying  forward  of  the  work  of  the  section,  to  give  attention 
to  all  problems  confronting  the  teachers  of  his  section,  to  recommend 
the  best  books  and  helps  for  the  teachers  of  his  section,  and  to  keep 
in  close  touch  with  the  secretary  of  the  Division  Department,  submit¬ 
ting  all  plans  and  results  of  work  to  him  for  counsel  and  cooperation; 
and, — 

Whereas,  These  sections  have  materially  assisted  in  preparing 
syllabi  for  the  departments  of  our  advanced  schools  and  in  rendering 
other  services  of  a  helpful  nature;  and, — 

Whereas,  We  think  the  work  of  these  departments  can  be  strength¬ 
ened  by  having  the  teachers  in  the  academies  and  intermediate  schools 
more  closely  associated  with  the  heads  of  the  similar  departments  of 
the  college  in  whose  territory  they  are  located;  therefore, — 

We  recommend,  (a)  That  the  teachers  in  our  colleges  be  organized 
into  one  group  of  sections,  to  be  known  as  the  “College  Section,”  and 
that  the  Division  Department  of  Education  appoint  each  year  the 
secretaries  of  the  various  sections. 

(b)  That  the  teachers  in  the  college,  academies,  and  intermediate 
schools  in  the  territory  of  each  college  be  organized  into  another 
group  of  sections,  to  be  known  as  the  “Academic  Section,”  the  head 
of  each  department  in  the  college  to  be  secretary  ex-officio  of  the 
section  in  which  he  teaches,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  unify  and  stand¬ 
ardize  the  work  done  in  the  academies  of  the  college  district. 

(c)  That  we  ask  the  management  of  the  colleges  in  which  their 
secretaries  are  located  to  render  help  to  the  work  of  the  sections  by 
allowing  the  secretaries  time  for  their  work  and  by  meeting  the  neces¬ 
sary  expenses  in  stenographic  help,  stationery,  and  postage. 

An  Educational  Movement 

19.  Whereas,  There  is  need  of  broadening  our  educational  work 
and  extending  it  into  the  homes,  giving  such  instruction  as  will  create 
a  deeper  interest  in  child  welfare,  a  greater  appreciation  of  the  im- 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


209 


portance  of  educating  the  children,  and  an  atmosphere  of  Christian 
home  culture;  and, — 

Whereas,  Our  teaching  force  is  best  qualified  to  give  such  instruc¬ 
tion;  therefore, — 

We  recommend,  That  the  Division  Department  of  Education  take 
steps  to  create  such  a  general  educational  movement  throughout  our 
churches  and  homes. 

Opening  of  New  Schools 

20.  That  earnest  effort  be  made  to  increase  the  number  of  efficient 
elementary  schools  and  teachers. 

21.  That  we  urge  our  superintendents  to  make  careful  investiga¬ 
tion  of  school  needs  in  every  church  in  the  conference  where  there  is 
no  school,  and  report  to  the  conference  committee  all  cases  where  a 
school  is  urgently  needed  but  cannot  be  supported  by  the  church; 
that  we  request  the  local  conference  committee  to  consider  carefully 
the  case  of  every  church  reported  under  this  recommendation,  and 
create  a  conference  fund  to  help  such  church  start  a  school,  on  the  same 
principle  as  the  local  church  provides  for  its  own  poor  in  its  local 
school. 

Increase  of  Enrollment 

22.  That  we  undertake  a  most  vigorous  campaign  this  summer  to 
increase  the  enrolment  in  all  our  schools  from  ten  to  twenty-five  per 
cent,  and  that  to  this  end  generous  use  be  made  of  the  campaign  num¬ 
ber  of  our  educational  magazine,  of  our  union  papers,  of  publicity 
leaflets  setting  forth  distinctive  features  of  the  school,  and  of  the  co¬ 
operative  assistance  of  former  students  in  the  school;  and  that  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  faculty  be  urged  to  visit  the  churches  and  homes  of  our 
people. 

Training  for  the  Ministry 

23.  That  our  educational  departments  and  institutions  place  more 
emphasis  upon  the  ministry  as  a  distinct  vocation. 

Ministerial  Reading  Courses 

24.  That  we  look  with  approval  upon  the  educative  value  of  the 
Ministerial  Reading  Course  for  laborers  who  are  already  in  the  field; 
and  that  we  encourage  prospective  laborers  in  gospel  lines  (especially 
members  of  the  ministerial  and  Bible  workers’  bands  in  our  colleges) 
to  pursue  the  Ministerial  Reading  Course  conducted  by  the  General 
Conference  Department  of  Education  and  authorized  by  the  General 
Conference  Committee. 


14 


210 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Publications 

25.  Whereas,  The  work  of  the  Textbook  Committee  is  of  a  contin¬ 
uous  nature,  making  it  desirable  to  have  as  few  changes  as  possible  in 
its  personnel, — 

We  recommend ,  That  the  secretaries  of  the  college  sections,  and 
three  others,  with  the  secretary  of  the  Division  Department  of  Edu¬ 
cation  as  chairman,  constitute  the  continuous  membership  of  the 
Textbook  Committee. 

26.  Whereas,  The  books  “Education”  and  “Counsels  to  Teach¬ 
ers,”  by  Mrs.  E.  G.  White,  are  of  inestimable  value  in  creating  an 
appreciation  of  the  value  of  Christian  education  and  in  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  our  school  work, — 

We  recommend ,  (a)  That  earnest  efforts  be  put  forth  by  our  con¬ 
ference  and  educational  workers  to  place  these  books  in  all  our  homes; 
and  we  further  recommend, — 

(b)  That  we  request  the  publishers  of  “Education”  to  bind  this 
book  in  limp  covers  to  correspond  with  the  style  and  binding  of 
“Counsels  to  Teachers.” 

27.  Whereas,  There  is  need  of  an  increase  of  campaign  literature, — 

We  recommend,  That  the  Division  Department  of  Education  bring 

out  as  rapidly  as  consistent  a  number  of  small  leaflets  emphasizing 
the  importance  of  Christian  education,  home  culture,  and  reading,  in 
inexpensive  form  for  general  circulation. 

28.  That  the  report  of  this  Council  be  published  within  the  price 
of  fifty  cents,  if  possible. 

29.  That  we  encourage  all  our  educators  to  make  more  liberal  use 
of  the  columns  of  our  educational  magazine  for  the  exchange  of  ideas 
that  make  for  the  improvement  of  our  school  work,  to  become  subscrib¬ 
ers  and  regular  readers  of  the  magazine  themselves,  and  to  put  forth 
more  earnest  effort  to  place  the  magazine  in  every  Seventh-day 
Adventist  home  in  the  land. 

Week  of  Prayer 

30.  That  our  schools  observe  a  special  week  of  prayer  in  the 
spring  of  the  year,  the  first  week  in  April  being  suggested  as  a  suitable 
time. 

Accredited  Schools 

See  Recommendation  No.  17  (e,  f,  g,  h). 

Final  Examinations 

See  Recommendation  No.  17  (i,  j,  k,  1,  m,  n,  o). 

Teachers’  Examinations  A 

See  Recommendation  No.  17  (p,  q,  r,  s,  t). 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


211 


Credits 

31.  That  we  look  with  favor  upon  developing  in  our  elementary 
schools,  the  plan  of  giving  school  credit  for  home  duties  willingly  and 
faithfully  done,  and  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  draw  up  a 
schedule  of  credits,  regulations,  and  awards  for  such  work. 

32.  That  the  fourteen-grade  Normal  Course  be  accepted  as  half 
of  the  College  Course  after  the  normal  departments  are  fully  stand¬ 
ardized  and  approved  by  the  Division  Departments;  and  that  mean¬ 
while  a  maximum  of  thirty-two  semester  hours  of  purely  normal  work 
may  command  college  credit. 

33.  That  pupils  from  the  public  school,  entering  the  seventh  and 
eighth  grade  in  our  church  schools,  be  not  required  to  pass  examina¬ 
tion  in  sixth-grade  nature  study,  but  that  they  be  encouraged  to  use 
all  the  nature-study  books  in  their  home  reading. 

34.  That  pupils  from  public  schools  entering  the  eighth  grade  be 
allowed  their  public-school  grades  in  seventh-grade  physiology  and 
geography,  and  be  not  required  to  pass  our  conference  examinations 
in  these  subjects. 

35.  That  pupils  from  the  public  schools  entering  the  eighth  grade 
be  allowed  to  enter  either  seventh-  or  eighth-grade  Bible  for  their  final 
work,  and  that  no  examination  in  general  Bible  be  given  by  the 
conferences. 

36.  That  two  examinations  be  given  during  the  year  for  finishing 
subjects,  and  that  the  details  of  this  plan  be  left  with  the  Division 
Department  of  Education,  to  be  worked  out  at  the  conventions  to  be 
held  this  summer. 

37.  Whereas,  Informing  a  pupil  beforehand,  through  correspond¬ 
ence,  as  to  the  amount  of  advanced  credit  that  will  be  allowed  him,  is 
a  very  difficult  and  unsatisfactory  way  of  dealing  with  such  matters; 
and,- — 

Whereas,  It  is  wholly  unnecessary,  it  being  generally  understood 
that  proper  credit  will  be  allowed  for  all  work  thoroughly  done  in  our 
own  schools  or  in  other  reputable  educational  institutions;  therefore, — 

We  recommend,  That  it  be  the  sense  of  this  body  that  the  pupils 
coming  to  our  schools  should  in  all  cases  receive  such  advanced  credit 
as  is  due  them  after  their  arrival  at  school,  and  as  a  result  of  personal 
interviews  with  the  various  heads  of  departments,  who  will  examine 
grades  and  certificates,  and,  if  necessary,  examine  the  pupil  as  to  the 
extent  and  character  of  his  school  work. 

Graduation 

38.  That  we  hold  before  all  our  students  the  standard  of  graduation 
before  they  leave  the  school. 


212 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


TEACHERS 

Tenure  and  Exchange  of  Teachers 

39.  That  we  seek  to  avoid  frequent  change  of  educational  officers 
in  the  field,  and  of  teachers  in  the  school. 

40.  Whereas ,  It  is  recognized  that  advantages  accrue  to  normal 
teachers  and  normal  schools  and  those  attending  summer  school,  by 
an  exchange  of  teachers  for  summer-school  work, — 

We  recommend ,  That  such  exchange  of  teachers  as  may  be  found 
feasible  be  encouraged. 

Teachers’  Examinations 

See  Recommendation  No.  17  (p,  q,  r,  s,  t). 

Renewal  of  Teachers’  Certificates 

41.  That  we  seek  to  impress  upon  our  teachers  anew  that  the 
presentation  of  a  Teachers’  Reading  Course  Certificate  is  one  condi¬ 
tion  of  their  receiving  a  renewal  of  their  teaching  certificates;  and 
that  we  seek  to  impress  it  upon  our  superintendents  and  secretaries 
anew,  that  the  responsibility  of  seeing  that  this  condition  is  met  rests 
with  them. 

Palmer’s  Penmanship  Offer 

42.  That  our  superintendents  urge  their  teachers  to  take  the  free 
course  in  penmanship  provided  and  conducted  by  Mr.  Palmer. 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES 

43.  That  we  request  the  North  American  Division  Conference  to 
continue  the  five  cents  out  of  the  Twenty-cent-a-week  Fund,  or  its 
equivalent,  after  the  debts  are  met,  for  the  development  of  our  col¬ 
leges  and  academies,  four  cents  to  be  retained  by  the  union  conference, 
and  one  cent  by  the  local  conference. 

44.  That  we  request  the  North  American  Division  Conference  to 
use  matured  annuities  and  gifts  not  applying  on  the  Twenty-cent-a- 
week  Fund  to  provide  improved  facilities  for  our  colleges  and  acad¬ 
emies. 

45.  That  one  half  of  the  money  paid  in  by  the  local  conference 
from  the  six  Sabbath  collections  provided  for  in  the  next  recommen¬ 
dation  (46)  be  used  by  the  union  conference  in  assisting  worthy  stu¬ 
dents  in  the  college  in  its  territory. 

46.  That  in  all  our  churches  money  be  raised  on  the  two  educa¬ 
tional  Sabbaths  and  on  the  first  Sabbath  in  each  quarter,  to  create 
an  educational  fund  to  be  used  as  follows:  — 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


213 


(a)  Churches  conducting  a  school  to  retain  half  the  money  raised, 
and  forward  the  other  half  to  the  local  conference  treasurer. 

(b)  Churches  not  conducting  a  school  to  forward  all  the  money 
raised  to  the  local  conference  treasurer. 

(c)  The  local  conference  to  retain  half  the  amount  received,  and 
use  it  in  assisting  weak  elementary  schools  or  worthy  students  in  local 
academies,  and  to  forward  the  other  half  to  the  union  conference. 

47.  That  our  schools  be  regarded  as  the  home  end  of  the  world¬ 
wide  missionary  movement,  and  be  dealt  with  on  the  same  economic 
basis  as  our  mission  fields,  viz.,  that  a  careful  budget  of  operating 
expense  and  improvements  be  made  each  year  in  advance;  that  before 
a  new  year  is  entered  upon,  provision  be  made  for  any  deficit  that  may 
have  occurred  in  the  previous  year’s  operation;  and  that  in  case  of 
any  special  emergency  arising  after  school  has  opened,  immediate 
steps  be  taken  for  such  adjustment  of  budget  and  plans  as  will  carry 
the  school  safely  over  the  emergency. 

48.  That  we  look  with  hearty  favor  upon  the  aggressive  moves 
being  made  in  behalf  of  our  schools,  to  liquidate  their  debts,  both 
those  efforts  made  by  our  conference  leaders  and  those  initiated  and 
carried  on  by  the  students  and  teachers  in  certain  of  our  colleges; 
that  in  this  connection  we  congratulate  Mount  Vernon  Academy  on 
her  jubilee  program;  and  that  we  urge  our  school  managers  and  sup¬ 
porters  to  persevere  in  the  campaign  to  remove  debt  until  all  our 
schools  can  join  in  one  grand  symphony  of  praise  for  deliverance 
from  debt. 

49.  Whereas,  Benefit  will  naturally  come  to  our  schools  by  an  asso¬ 
ciation  of  certain  financial  interests, — 

We  recommend,  That  the  North  American  Division  Conference  be 
asked  to  take  such  steps  as  will  make  it  possible  for  our  schools  and 
academies  to  unite  in  the  purchase  of  common  essentials  for  their 
work,  such  as  linen,  kitchen  ware,  dishes,  etc. 

Scholarships  and  Aid 

50.  That  young  men  who  give  promise  of  becoming  successful 
ministers  be  selected,  and  if  necessary,  be  aided  financially,  to  complete 
the  ministerial  course. 

51.  That  such  young  men  as  give  promise  of  becoming  ministers 
be  selected,  and  if  necessary,  be  aided  by  their  respective  conferences 
with  tuition  scholarships  of  $50  each,  in  harmony  with  a  previous 
recommendation  passed  by  the  North  American  Division  Council  in 
the  autumn  of  1913;  that  the  smaller  conferences  provide  at  least 
one  such  scholarship  each  year,  and  that  the  larger  conferences  pro¬ 
vide  two  or  more  such  scholarships  each  year. 


214 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


52.  That  we  express  to  the  Review  and  Herald  Publishing  Associa¬ 
tion  our  appreciation  of  their  cooperation  in  providing  five  $50 
ministerial  scholarships  in  each  of  the  advanced  schools  located  in  the 
Review  and  Herald  territory,  and  that  we  recommend  this  plan  to  the 
favorable  consideration  of  our  other  publishing  houses,  with  the 
suggestion  that  the  conditions  on  which  these  scholarships  are  granted 
be  simplified. 


MISCELLANEOUS 

53.  That  mothers  be  encouraged  to  keep  their  children  at  home 
until  they  are  eight  or  ten  years  of  age,  and  teach  them  themselves, 
using  the  Home  Education  Department  of  Christian  Educator  and 
the  Mothers’  Normal  Department  of  the  Fireside  Correspondence 
School  as  aids  in  doing  this  work  for  their  children,  this  recommen¬ 
dation  to  be  understood  to  apply  only  in  cases  where  parents  are 
capable  of  teaching  their  children  or  are  willing  to  qualify  for  such 
work;  also  that  our  efforts  to  assist  parents  be  made  especially  for 
those  who  have  no  access  to  a  Christian  school;  and  in  all  cases  it  is 
understood  that  we  avoid  urging  formal  school  work  to  be  done  in  the 
home  during  the  tender  age  of  the  child. 

54.  (a)  That  in  our  advanced  schools  we  refrain  from  all  kinds  of 
recreation  that  are  not  in  harmony  with  the  teachings  of  the  Bible 
and  the  spirit  of  prophecy. 

(b)  That  we  pledge  ourselves  to  more  earnest  efforts  “to  provide 
in  their  stead  innocent  pleasures,’’  among  which  may  be  mentioned: 
outings  properly  conducted,  occasional  receptions,  lectures,  musical 
programs,  physical  culture  exercises,  student  programs,  class  excur¬ 
sions  under  the  teacher’s  leadership,  walks,  swimming  exercises,  and 
such  other  forms  of  Christian  “recreation”  as  local  conditions  may 
afford. 

(c)  That,  if  necessary,  we  make  more  ample  provision  for  physical 
labor  for  our  students,  realizing  that  the  better  way  for  them  to  get 
physical  exercise  is  through  manual  training,  letting  useful  employ¬ 
ment  take  the  place  of  selfish  pleasure. 

(d)  That  all  outdoor  recreation  in  our  church  schools  be  under  the 
supervision  of  the  teacher,  and  that  all  games  of  a  rough  or  sentimental 
character,  or  games  tending  to  arouse  resentment  or  anger  or  that  lead 
to  dishonesty,  such  as  Indian,  crack-the-whip,  needle’s  eye,  playing 
for  keeps,  etc.,  be  eliminated. 

(e)  That  we  encourage  the  providing  of  the  necessary  recreation 
by  manual  training,  gardening,  marching,  and  physical  culture,  both 
outdoors  and  in  the  schoolroom;  and  that  there  be  provided  teeter- 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


215 


boards,  swings,  sand  boxes,  building  blocks,  and  brick  for  building 
playhouses. 

(f)  That  the  noon  hour  and  the  time  before  school  be  as  carefully 
supervised  as  the  regular  recreation  period. 

(g)  That  by  precept  and  example  we  hold  before  our  young  people 
in  all  our  churches  the  high  standard  regarding  recreation,  social 
gatherings,  and  wise  deportment  that  is  given  in  the  Bible  and  the 
spirit  of  prophecy,  and  that  teachers  discourage  the  playing  of  silly 
games  at  social  gatherings. 


RESOLUTION  OF  THANKS 

55.  Whereas,  We  have  all  enjoyed  the  excellent  accommodations 
provided  at  the  Pacific  Union  College  during  the  time  of  this  Council  — 
Resolved ,  (a)  That  we  hereby  express  to  the  president  of  the  col¬ 
lege,  Professor  Irwin,  and  to  his  associates,  Professor  Newton,  Miss 
Andre,  Mrs.  Robbins,  and  other  workers,  our  appreciation  of  the  good 
services  which  have  been  rendered  and  the  excellent  food  provided. 

(b)  That  we  express  to  the  Pacific  Union  Conference  Committee 
our  pleasure  in  accepting  their  kind,  free,  and  liberal  hospitality. 

Frederick  Griggs,  Chairman. 

W.  E.  Howell,  Secretary. 


COMMITTEE  REPORTS 

REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  SCIENCE 

EQUIPMENT 

( Read  by  Chairman  Wood) 

Your  Committee  on  Science  Equipment,  in  giving  the  following 
report,  would  suggest  that  it  is  primarily  intended  for  the  relation  of 
the  colleges  to  the  academies,  more  than  for  the  college  itself. 

Many  of  our  academies  are  trying  to  teach  beyond  their  means, 
and  it  would  be  necessary  for  them  to  relate  themselves  properly  to 
the  college  in  order  to  get  credit  on  the  different  courses  when  their 
students  are  graduated  from  their  institutions  and  check  up  their 
work  in  their  respective  colleges.  I  have  been  in  a  number  of  acade¬ 
mies  where  they  were  trying  to  teach  physics  with  only  from  three 
to  five  dollars’  worth  of  apparatus  on  the  shelves,  and  yet  their  stu¬ 
dents  would  come  to  college  and  maintain  that  they  had  had  as  good 
a  course  as  they  could  get  at  the  college. 

In  the  different  colleges  throughout  the  country,  conditions  will 
vary  so  that  more  extended  work  can  be  done  along  certain  lines 
than  in  other  institutions.  For  instance,  some  institutions  may  be 
located  where  flowers  and  materials  for  the  study  of  botany  may 
abound,  while  others  may  be  especially  favored  by  locations  in  which 
geology  or  biology  might  be  carried  on.  Again,  in  many  of  our  in¬ 
stitutions  one  individual  has  to  carry  both  biological  and  physical 
science;  and  it  will  be  found  that  the  teacher  nearly  always  has  a 
preference  for  one  line  or  the  other.  It  is  very  seldom  that  you  will 
find  a  teacher  equally  proficient  in  both  lines. 

Another  reason  for  devoting  this  report  primarily  to  the  interests 
of  the  academies  is,  that  all  our  colleges  at  the  present  time  are 
manned  by  teachers  who  realize  the  need  of  thorough  equipment  in 
their  respective  branches;  hence  it  is  not  so  much  a  need  of  getting 
instructors  to  realize  the  equipment  that  should  be  placed  in  the 
school,  as  it  is  for  each  instructor  to  obtain  from  his  school  board  the 
needed  facilities  for  installing  the  same. 

It  is  recommended  that  the  amount  of  apparatus  specified,  or  its 
equivalent,  be  installed  in  each  school  teaching  the  subject,  not  later 
than  Sept,  i,  1917. 

L.  H.  Wood  O.  R.  Cooper 

J.  A.  L.  Derby  M.  W.  Newton 

W.  E.  Nelson  Committee 

Note. —  The  list  of  apparatus  has  been  duplicated  and  distributed 
to  schools.  Other  copies  may  be  had  on  application  to  the  Division 
Department  of  Education. 

216 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TEXTBOOKS 

{Read  by  Chairman  Griggs ) 

In  making  this  report,  your  committee  thought  it  might  be  of 
profit  to  note  briefly  a  few  points  in  the  development  of  our  textbook 
interests.  From  the  first  of  our  educational  work,  a  need  has  been  felt 
of  having  our  own  textbooks  —  books  that  would  in  all  respects  bear 
the  stamp  of  our  message,  or,  at  least,  where  this  was  not  possible, 
of  having  those  books  which,  though  published  by  others,  should  not 
contravene  the  spirit  of  this  message.  We  have  had  the  plainest  of 
instruction  from  the  spirit  of  prophecy  regarding  this  point,  and 
there  has  been  a  strong  effort  to  provide  those  textbooks  which  could 
be  used  in  the  development  of  noble  Christian  character  in  our  pupils. 

Many  years  ago  Prof.  G.  H.  Bell,  feeling  this  need,  prepared  a 
series  of  textbooks  in  the  line  of  his  teaching  —  the  English  language. 
Later  on  Professor  Sutherland  and  those  associated  with  him  felt  the 
need  of  textbooks  for  our  children,  and  undertook  work  in  this  direc¬ 
tion.  Still  later,  others  began  the  work  of  preparing  books  along  the 
line  of  their  teaching. 

At  the  time  of  the  General  Conference  held  in  Takoma  Park  in 
1905,  action  was  taken  authorizing  the  appointing  of  “a  representative 
textbook  committee,”  whose  work  it  should  be  “to  examine  manu¬ 
scripts,  text,  supplemental,  and  reference  books,”  and  to  recommend 
those  that  were  “suitable  for  use  in  our  various  schools,”  so  that  we 
might  have  uniformity  in  our  textbook  work.  At  the  meeting  of  the 
Educational  Department  held  at  the  same  conference,  a  Committee 
on  Textbooks  was  appointed.  At  the  Educational  Convention  at 
College  View  in  1906  this  committee  met,  in  union  with  the  Committee 
on  Courses,  and  suggested  textbooks  for  the  various  grades  of  our 
elementary  schools. 

From  the  report  of  that  convention  we  learned  that  we  had  at 
that  time  as  textbooks:  Bell’s  Language  Series;  True  Education  Reader 
Series,  books  1  to  5,  which  had  been  published  experimentally  a  year 
or  so  before;  Sutherland’s  Bible  Readers  1  to  3;  Our  Little  Folks’ 
Bible  Nature;  Mrs.  McKibbin’s  Bible  Lessons  for  grades  4,  5,  and  6; 
and  Kern’s  New  Testament  History  for  use  in  grade  9.  There  was 
at  that  time  a  call  for  a  United  States  history  and  a  general  history; 
for  either  a  geography  written  from  a  missionary  viewpoint,  or  a 
manual  covering  the  ground  of  missionary  enterprise;  for  a  two-book 
series  in  arithmetic,  and  a  manual  of  penmanship  correlated  with  the 
readers  adopted. 

From  this  time  the  development  of  our  textbook  work  has  been 
growing.  At  the  General  Conference  in  1909,  the  Committee  on  Text- 

217 


218 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


books  submitted  a  report  to  the  council,  in  which  the  following  were 
some  of  the  recommendations:  — 

1.  That  the  General  Conference  Department  of  Education  co¬ 
operate  with  our  publishing  houses  printing  educational  literature,  in 
the  selection  of  editorial  help  necessary  for  the  thorough  editing  and 
prompt  publication  of  manuscripts  approved  by  the  Department  of 
Education. 

2.  That  where  persons  have  been  appointed  by  the  Educational 
Department  to  write  manuscripts  for  textbooks,  the  Department  use 
its  good  offices  with  the  educational  institution  with  .vhich  such  per¬ 
sons  are  connected,  to  relieve  them  from  carrying  full  responsibili¬ 
ties  in  the  school,  allowing  them  to  give  their  first  and  best  efforts  to 
preparing  the  manuscripts,  and  teaching  the  subjects  on  which  they 
write,  in  the  school,  thus  having  an  opportunity  to  make  a  practical 
test  of  their  work  before  it  is  placed  in  book  form. 

3.  That  the  General  Conference  Department  of  Education  re¬ 
quest  the  General  Conference  Committee  to  devise  plans  for  the  rais¬ 
ing  of  a  fund,  to  be  known  as  the  “Textbook  Fund,”  which  shall  be 
drawn  upon  where  necessary  in  helping  to  pay  a  portion  of  the  sal¬ 
aries  of  textbook  writers,  who  shall  return  the  same  to  the  Textbook 
Fund  on  receiving  royalties  from  the  sale  of  their  books. 

4.  That  the  Department  of  Education,  as  far  as  it  is  safe  and 
consistent,  appoint  persons  to  develop  manuscripts  on  such  subjects 
as  they  have  shown,  by  education  and  practical  school  experience,  to 
be  fitted  to  write. 

We  quote  these  recommendations  at  this  time  because  they  are 
quite  as  applicable  now  as  they  were  six  and  more  years  ago. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  last  General  Conference,  in  1913,  there  ex¬ 
isted  no  permanent  textbook  committee,  but  at  that  time  an  action 
was  taken  in  the  Educational  Council  constituting  a  permanent  Com¬ 
mittee  on  Textbooks,  having  as  members,  ex-officio,  the  secretaries 
of  the  various  sections  of  the  Department. 

Following  the  last  General  Conference  Council,  steps  were  taken 
to  carry  out  previous  departmental  action  to  revise  Bell’s  grammar. 
The  consensus  of  opinion,  gathered  in  response  to  a  letter  sent  out  to 
five  hundred  of  our  teachers,  showed  a  strong  majority  favoring  the 
revision  of  Bell’s  original  book,  “Natural  Method  in  English,”  and 
its  publication  in  a  single  volume  rather  than  in  a  series  as  formerly. 
W.  E.  Howell  was  asked  to  make  this  revision.  His  work  was  accom¬ 
plished  last  fall  and  accepted  by  the  Department,  and  the  manuscript 
turned  over  to  the  Review  and  Herald,  who  are  the  publishers  of 
Bell’s  series  of  English  textbooks.  We  expect  this  book  to  settle  all 
questions  regarding  the  use  of  a  complete  grammar  for  our  schools. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


219 


In  pursuance  of  a  previous  action  of  the  Department  to  develop 
a  series  of  manuals  for  our  elementary  schools,  the  North  American 
Division  Conference  at  the  fall  council  in  1913  appropriated  $600  for 
the  bringing  out  of  these  manuals.  In  the  autumn  of  1914,  three  of 
these  manuals  were  completed  and  placed  on  the  market.  They  were 
manuals  on  Primary  Reading,  by  Miss  Hale;  Bible  Lessons,  by  Mrs. 
McKibbin;  Cardboard  Construction  based  on  Household  Economics, 
by  Mrs.  Robison.  In  addition  to  these,  four  other  manuals  are  in 
process  of  development;  namely,  arithmetic,  by  Mrs.  Osborne;  Sew¬ 
ing,  by  Miss  Rubie  Owen;  Nature  Study,  by  G.  F.  Wolfkill  in  collabo¬ 
ration  with  M.  E.  Cady;  Drawing,  by  Mrs.  Delpha  S.  Miller.  In  this 
connection,  mention  should  also  be  made  of  "Outlines  and  Methods 
in  Primary  Bible  Nature,”  prepared  by  Mrs.  Ella  King  Sanders, 
pulbished  in  serial  form  in  Christian  Education ,  and  then  revised  and 
issued  as  Bulletin  No.  12.  Although  largely  prepared  before  work 
was  formally  begun  on  separate  manuals,  it  serves  well  the  purpose 
of  a  manual  in  that  line  for  the  present. 

There  remain  yet  to  be  brought  out  manuals  in  various  other  lines 
of  church-school  work,  and  also  a  general  manual,  principles,  courses 
of  study,  school  law,  etc.  The  lessons  on  Prophetic  History,  author¬ 
ized  by  the  Department,  were  prepared  by  Mrs.  H.  A.  Washburn, 
and  printed  as  Educational  Bulletin  No.  6,  with  the  idea  of  revising 
them  after  they  have  been  tested  in  the  schools. 

In  response  to  a  request  from  the  Department,  J.  G.  Lamson  has 
prepared  a  manuscript  on  Civil  Government,  which  he  has  been  unable 
to  complete  because  of  the  open  question  as  to  whether  this  subject 
would  be  taught  in  the  eighth  grade  or  some  higher  grade.  His 
work  has  been  delayed  until  this  Council  for  location  of  this  subject 
in  the  grades. 

Books  on  Hand 

The  Textbook  Committee  now  has  on  hand  the  following  manu¬ 
scripts  for  examination,  some  of  which  are  in  process  of  examination, 
but  final  action  has  not  been  taken  by  the  Department  on  them:  — 

1.  A  Geographical  Guide,  by  Miss  Eliza  H.  Morton,  designed  to 
accompany  her  advanced  geography,  and  answer  the  pressing  demand 
for  missionary  instruction  in  connection  with  geography. 

2.  A  Manual  to  be  used  in  the  teaching  of  geography  has  been 
largely  developed  also,  by  Mrs.  Robison,  along  lines  presented  a  year 
ago  in  Christian  Education. 

3.  Elementary  Botany  and  Agriculture,  by  Mrs.  Mary  Crawford, 
of  Mississippi.  . 

4.  A  device  of  Dissected  Maps,  by  L,  M.  Knapp,  for  use  in  church 
schools. 


220 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


5.  A  general  outline  of  Elementary  Physiography,  submitted  by 
George  McCready  Price,  in  response  to  an  action  of  the  Department 
favoring  the  preparation  of  such  a  book. 

6.  A  Primary  Physiology,  by  Mrs.  Brown. 

7.  A  pamphlet  on  American  History.  Outlines  and  notes  for 
church-school  teachers,  which  has  been  printed  in  part  by  the  author, 
B.  E.  Huffman. 

8.  Spirit  of  Prophecy,  by  O.  A.  Johnson. 

9.  Set  of  graded  lessons  in  Proofreading,  by  Mrs.  Rathbun,  of 
Emmanuel  Missionary  College. 

10.  Studies  in  Prophetic  History,  by  Max  Hill. 

General  Suggestions 

Our  brief  experience  in  the  development  of  textbooks  has  taught 
us  some  things  which  are  not  apparent  at  first  sight:  — 

1.  Textbooks  are  not  made  to  order,  but  rather  grow  out  of  expe¬ 
rience.  In  the  best  textbooks  that  come  from  the  educational  press 
of  the  country,  you  will  almost  invariably  see  in  the  preface  some 
statement  to  the  effect  that  “this  book  is  the  outgrowth  of  many 
years’  experience  in  the  schoolroom,  and  is  published  at  the  request 
of  others  than  the  author,  who  have  had  the  opportunity  to  use  it 
and  whose  experience  has  been  wrought  into  the  making  of  the  book.” 

Our  textbooks  can  be  written  only  by  those  teachers  who  have 
had  a  long  experience  in  the  line  of  teaching  upon  which  they  write. 

2.  In  the  development  of  our  textbooks  we  should  seek  to  publish 
those  books  first  which  are  most  needed  and  which  will  have  the 
largest  sale. 

3.  The  price  of  our  textbooks  averages  higher  than  that  of  text¬ 
books  of  publishing  houses  generally,  because  of  the  large  initial  cost, 
and  added  to  this,  the  fact  that  our  books  have  a  very  limited  sale. 
We  should  seek  to  lower  the  price  of  these  books.  This  may  be  brought 
about  by  having  a  fund  from  which  to  pay  the  authors  for  their  man¬ 
uscripts,  so  that  the  publishing  houses  may  be  relieved  from  paying 
a  royalty. 

4.  For  some  time  there  has  been  a  general  uniformity  of  textbooks 
used  in  our  elementary  schools,  but  in  our  academies  and  colleges  this 
uniformity  has  not  existed.  Immediate  steps  should  now  be  taken 
to  have  the  textbooks  used  in  our  colleges  and  academies  uniform. 
This,  of  course,  will  obtain  in  those  subjects  in  which  we  have  text¬ 
books  by  our  own  authors;  and  in  those  subjects  where  we  do  not 
have  textbooks,  we  should  select  the  best  books  obtainable,  to  the 
end  that  they  may  be  used  universally  by  the  teachers  in  all  our  acad¬ 
emies  and  colleges. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


221 


5.  Your  Committee  is  conscious  of  the  fact  that  but  little  has  been 
accomplished  of  what  we  wish  to  do  in  the  direction  of  preparing 
our  own  textbooks.  We  believe  that  more  time  and  money  should 
be  expended  in  the  preparation  of  such  books,  and  that  our  teachers 
of  experience  should  be  encouraged  to  write  them.  The  preparation 
of  such  manuscripts  is  an  advantage  to  the  ones  writing  them,  even 
if  for  various  reasons  they  cannot  be  published. 

In  this  connection  we  would  call  attention  to  the  danger  in  the  pri¬ 
vate  publication  of  textbooks.  From  the  fact  that  such  books  are 
liable  to  represent  only  the  author’s  idea  of  the  subject,  and  conse¬ 
quently  will  not  give  the  broad,  strong  instruction  upon  these  sub¬ 
jects  which  should  be  given,  we  urge  the  writers  of  textbooks  to 
submit  their  manuscripts  to  the  Committee  on  Textbooks  for  their 
suggestions  and  approval. 

6.  “A  prophet  is  not  without  honor  save  in  his  own  country.” 
We  have  felt  that  at  times  our  own  teachers  were  hypercritical  con¬ 
cerning  our  own  books.  The  textbooks  which  we  publish  and  which 
are  used  in  our  elementary  schools  have  been  one  of  the  strongest 
features  in  the  upbuilding  of  all  these  schools,  and  the  more  we  have 
of  our  own  textbooks,  the  stronger  will  be  our  work  as  a  whole. 

Recommendations 

Your  committee  would  recommend:  — 

1.  That  our  Textbook  Committee  work  toward  securing  uniform¬ 
ity  of  textbooks  in  our  schools  in  cases  where  we  have  no  textbooks 
of  our  own. 

2.  That  the  author  of  “True  Education  Reader,”  Book  Six,  be 
asked  to  revise  the  language  work  in  the  book,  giving  more  attention 
to  language  and  less  to  technical  grammar. 

3.  That  Miss  Hale  be  asked  to  revise  her  spelling  books,  combining 
them  in  one  volume  and  adding  many  simple  words  that  the  child 
should  be  able  to  spell. 

4.  That  the  Department  of  Education  endeavor  to  learn  in  the 
summer  conventions  the  mind  of  our  superintendents  and  teachers 
on  the  following  points:  — 

(1)  The  use  of  Morton’s  Advanced  Geography  with  a  Manual  on 
Missions,  or  the  preparation  of  a  new  text  embodying  missionary 
geography. 

(2)  The  advisability  of  asking  Mrs.  Robison  to  revise  and  enlarge 
her  Outline  on  Geography,  considering  it  as  to  (a)  Descriptive  matter, 
(b)  Method,  (c)  Plan. 

5.  That  Professor  Lamson  be  asked  to  write  an  elementary  text¬ 
book  on  Civics  for  the  eighth  grade,  and  that  there  be  associated  with 


222 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


him  some  one  of  long  experience  in 'teaching,  to  be  chosen  on  the 
advice  of  the  Educational  Department. 

6.  That  in  view  of  the  fact  that  this  textbook  cannot  be  prepared 
in  time  for  the  opening  of  school,  the  textbook  now  in  Our  schools  be 
used  for  the  coming  year. 

7.  That,  recognizing  the  need  of  a  book  on  United  States  History 
written  for  our  own  work,  some  teacher  of  grammar  grade  experience  be 
asked  to  write  a  history  along  the  lines  of  Brother  B.  E.  Huffman’s 
outline. 

8.  That  a  Physiology  be  provided  for  use  in  the  seventh  grade. 
As  Professor  Cady  has  already  written  a  manuscript  on  the  subject, 
we  recommend  that  an  experienced  teacher  in  elementary  grades  be 
associated  with  him  in  preparing  this  manuscript  to  be  submitted  to 
the  Department  for  examination. 

9.  That  the  Department  consider  the  advisability  of  having  a 
Geography  written. 

10.  That  for  the  present  we  use  Miss  Morton’s  Geography  with 
a  Missionary  Manual  prepared  to  be  used  in  connection  with  it. 

11.  That  a  committee  composed  of  teachers  of  experience  in 
elementary  grades,  associated  with  musicians,  be  appointed  to  make 
a  compilation  of  suitable  songs  to  be  used  in  our  elementary  schools, 
and  that  these  songs  be  graded  in  at  least  three  divisions. 

12.  That  as  there  is  a  real  need  for  a  textbook  on  Prophetic  His¬ 
tory  for  the  eighth  grade,  the  Department  plan  for  the  writing  of  a 
book  on  this  subject. 

13.  That  the  outline  maps  published  by  the  Review  and  Herald 
be  used  in  all  our  elementary  schools,  and  that  the  publishers  be  asked 
to  add  such  other  maps  as  are  needed,  such  as  maps  of  Palestine, 
Paul’s  journeys,  and  the  United  States. 

14.  That  in  Bible  Nature  Series,  Book  Three,  Lessons  4,  6,  12,  13, 
pages  54-61,  be  eliminated,  if  desired;  that  chapters  9  and  10  be  used 
as  supplementary  reading;  and  that  examinations  be  based  on  the 
required  subject  matter  only. 


Frederick  Griggs 
E.  J.  Hibbard 
O.  J.  Graf 
M.  E.  Cady 
Winifred  P.  Rowell 
W.  E.  PIoweLi. 

Sarah  Peck 
H  A.  Morrison 


C.  C.  Lewis 
S.  A.  Smith 
H.  G.  Lucas 
Clemen  Hamer 
Delpha  S.  Miller 
G.  K.  Abbott 
Alma  J.  Graf 


Committee 


REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  AUXILIARY 

ORGANIZATIONS 

{Read  by  Chairman  Kern ) 

At  the  time  of  the  General  Conference  some  feeling  arose  that  there 
was  developing  in  our  educational  institutions  a  desire  to  create  a 
large  number  of  auxiliary  organizations  that  would  take  the  student’s 
mind  and  interest  from  his  regular  work.  A  committee  was  therefore 
appointed  to  investigate  this  question  and  report  at  this  meeting. 
Letters  were  sent  to  the  heads  of  the  different  schools,  and  other  teach¬ 
ers  throughout  the  country,  asking  what  they  thought  the  proper 
number  of  auxiliary  organizations  and  what  should  be  the  amount  of 
faculty  supervision.  A  large  number  replied,  and  this  report  is  largely 
based  upon  these  replies. 

It  was  felt  that  our  students  have  their  time  too  well  filled  to  take 
up  more  of  it  with  meetings  which,  though  perhaps  good  in  themselves, 
do  not  contribute  essentially  to  the  benefit  derived  from  their  stay  in 
the  school.  Our  program  is  in  the  main  a  missionary  program.  Hav¬ 
ing  our  students  in  the  homes,  we  are  enabled  to  teach  them  many 
things  usually  left  for  the  so-called  literary  societies  and  clubs  to  per¬ 
form.  Our  entertainments  are  generally  of  either  a  literary  or  a 
musical  nature,  and  our  entire  student  body  should  be  educated  along 
these  lines. 

It  was  felt  that  our  students  in  the  academies  are  not  old  enough 
to  realize  much  good  from  a  Foreign  Mission  Band  conducted  as  such, 
and  that  with  the  Missionary  Volunteer  programs  conducted  on  the 
missionary  basis,  as  they  are  at  the  present  time,  the  young  people 
would  be  able  to  get  as  much  out  of  these  exercises,  properly  con¬ 
ducted,  as  by  slighting  these  and  trying  to  operate  a  Foreign  Mission 
Band. 

Recommendations 

In  view  of  the  facts  presented,  your  committee  recommend, — 

(a)  That  no  auxiliary  organizations  be  carried  on  except  those 
^conducted  under  the  direction  of  the  faculty,  in  harmony  with  lines 
carried  on  by  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Society.  This  is  to  include 
all  such  organizations  as  Prayer  Bands,  Foreign  Mission  Bands  (for 
the  colleges),  Canvassers’  Bands,  Ministerial  Bands,  Bible  Workers’ 
Bands,  Christian  Help  Bands,  etc. 


223 


224 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


(b)  That  should  need  be  felt  for  extra  work  in  any  line  of  study, 
such  as  science  or  literature,  this  work  be  carried  on  in  connection 
with  the  regular  departments  under  supervision  of  the  faculty. 

(c)  That  no  auxiliary  organization  be  conducted  without  proper 
faculty  supervision. 

M.  E.  Kern  J.  I.  Beardsley 

W.  H  Wakeham  L.  H.  Wood 

E.  G.  Salisbury7  Committee 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  SCHOOL  CREDIT 

FOR  HOME  WORK 

{Read  by  Chairman  Robison ) 

Whereas,  The  plan  for  giving  school  credit  for  home  industrial 
work  is  still  in  a  state  of  immaturity,  and  your  committee  appointed 
to  report  on  this  work  are  convinced,  after  careful  consideration,  that 
at  this  time  definite  recommendation  as  to  details  would  be  prema¬ 
ture;  therefore, — 

We  recommend,  That  the  matter  be  referred  to  the  Normal  Section, 
with  the  understanding  that  they  cooperate  with  the  field  in  working 
out  and  standardizing  the  plan. 

Milton  P.  Robison 
C.  L.  Stone 
B.  B.  Davis 
Mrs.  Williams 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  BLANKS 

{Read  by  Chairman  Ruble) 

Your  Committee  on  Blanks  desires  to  submit  the  following  re¬ 
port:  — 

1.  Form  i-B,  Pupils’  Monthly  Report  Blanks.  We  suggest  add¬ 
ing  the  following:  After  the  average,  a  line  for  home  credit  wrork; 
below  that  add  5  per  cent  to  average,  and  then  a  line  for  the  final  grade. 
(See  inclosed  slip.) 

2.  We  recommend  dropping  Form  6-A,  and  substituting  in  its 
place  the  blank  inclosed  (No.  1),  to  be  filed  in  a  loose-leaf  book  for 
the  Union  Conference  record,  and  the  addition  of  “No.  Churches  hav¬ 
ing  no  elementary  school.” 

3.  We  recommend  such  change  in  Form  6-B,  the  certificate  of 
scholarship  for  the  eighth  grade,  and  in  Form  10-A,  the  certificate  of 


Committee 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


225 


scholarship  for  the  tenth  grade,  as  will  be  necessary  to  meet  the  re¬ 
quirements  of  the  course  of  study  adopted  at  this  Council. 

4.  We  recommend  such  change  in  Form  18-A,  the  summer- 
school  certificate,  and  the  enrollment  card,  as  may  be  necessitated  by 
any  change  in  the  requirement  for  a  teacher’s  certificate  made  by 
this  Council. 

5.  We  recommend  for  Form  21 -A  a  list  of  examinees,  the  addi¬ 
tion  of  a  note  at  the  top  of  the  page, — “Examination  papers  will  not 
be  credited  unless  accompanied  by  this  list  properly  filled  out  and 
certified,” — and  leave  out  age,  number  of  months  taught,  and  add 
number  of  papers  written,  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  page  as  follows:  — 

“This  certifies  that  these  examinations  have  been  written  in  har¬ 
mony  with  the  rules  and  regulations  governing  the  giving  of  union 
conference  examinations  at  the  time  stated  by  the  regular  program, 
and  that  the  examinee  has  not  received  help  from  any  source.” 

6.  We  recommend,  for  the  use  of  the  academies  reporting  to  the 
Union  Conference  Secretary,  Blank  2  as  the  opening  report  blank, 
and  at  the  close  of  the  academy  or  intermediate  school  term,  the  use  of 
Blank  3. 

We  also  recommend,  as  a  monthly  report  to  the  Union  Conference 
secretary  and  to  the  local  conference  superintendents,  a  post  card  cov¬ 
ering  the  following:  Blank  for  name  of  school,  months  ending,  enroll¬ 
ment  by  number  of  boys  and  girls,  number  entered  during  month, 
number  dropped  during  month,  number  working  way  (boys  and 
girls),  number  working  part  way  (boys  and  girls),  number  of  prayer 
bands,  number  converted,  membership  of  Missionary  Volunteer  So¬ 
ciety,  remarks. 

7.  On  the  back  of  the  Professional  Certificate  we  recommend  the 
following  changes:  Leave  off  the  paragraph  following  the  subjects 
listed,  and  replace  by,  “The  required  grades  for  second-  and  first- 

grade  certificates  are  recorded  on . Union 

Conference  books,  at . 

“Signed, . 

“  Union  Conference  Educational  Secretary .” 

8.  We  recommend  that  the  present  Superintendent’s  Record  Book 
be  discontinued,  and  that  a  loose-leaf  device  be  adopted,  incorporat¬ 
ing  the  present  practical  features  and  all  changes  recommended  by 
this  Council. 

9.  We  recommend  that  the  Lamson  Daily  Register  be  continued 
the  coming  school  year.  As  there  has  been  some  complaint  concern¬ 
ing  this  Register,  we  recommend  that  a  committee  of  two  be  appointed 
to  examine  other  registers,  and  prepare  a  daily  register  that  will  more 
nearly  meet  the  needs  of  our*  schools,  and  that  before  the  suggested 

15 


226 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


register  is  adopted  by  the  Department,  it  be  submitted  to  a  large  num¬ 
ber  of  educational  workers  for  critical  examination  and  suggestions. 

10.  We  recommend  that  a  pledge  card  be  adopted  to  aid  in  strength¬ 
ening  the  educational  fund. 

11.  We  recommend  the  adoption  of  a  hinted  statement  for  the 
use  of  church-school  treasurers. 

12.  We  recommend  for  the  use  of  the  examining  board,  a  card 
which  includes  all  elementary  school  subjects. 

13.  We  recommend  a  change  in  the  elementary  school  enrollment 
blank,  and  that  the  names  of  the  church-school  board  be  included  in 
the  report. 

14.  We  recommend  the  preparation  of  a  blank  for  the  use  of  the 
union  secretaries  in  reporting  to  the  North  American  Division  Con¬ 
ference  Educational  Department. 

15.  We  recommend  the  use  of  the  Home  Workers’  Blank  in  our 
elementary  schools. 

W.  W.  Ruble  C.  L.  Stone 

Flora  H.  Williams  I.  C.  Colcord 

M.  E.  Cady  Committee 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  LIBRARY 

(The  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Library  was  read  by  the  Sec¬ 
retary  of  the  Council  in  the  absence  of  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee, 
J.  N.  Anderson.) 

In  submitting  the  lists  of  books  which  are  herewith  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  delegates  of  this  Council,  your  committee  wishes  to  lay 
before  you  some  facts  and  make  some  suggestions  that  have  to  do  with 
our  findings  as  a  committee. 

First  of  all,  we  wish  to  say  that  the  work  of  selecting  these  books 
has  been  a  labor  of  much  pleasure,  though  it  has  necessarily  entailed 
no  small  amount  of  effort  and  care.  With  the  increasing  time  spent 
in  preparing  these  lists  we  have  been  increasingly  impressed  with  the 
importance  of  having  all  our  schools  provided  with  an  adequate  num¬ 
ber  of  really  good  books.  Next  to  the  staff  of  instructors,  the  library 
manifestly  holds  the  most  important  place  in  the  school;  and  in  one 
respect  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  library  is  even  before  the  fac¬ 
ulty,  since  it  serves  both  the  students  and  the  teachers.  Necessarily, 
the  great  emphasis  must  fall  on  the  quality  of  the  books  placed  on 
our  shelves.  The  value  of  a  good  book  for  good  is  the  measure  of 
the  worthless  or  vicious  book  for  evil.  We  all  agree  that  the  books 
placed  in  our  libraries  must  be  select ,  up-to-date,  efficient,  wholesome. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


227 


In  selecting  these  books  your  committee  has  labored  with  this  in 
mind,  and  yet  we  are  frank  to  say,  what  is  no  doubt  patent  to  all,  that 
it  is  next  to  impossible  to  find  books  that  are  in  every  respect  entirely 
suited  to  the  work  we  as  a  people  are  seeking  to  do.  In  this  matter 
of  suitableness,  books  vary  more  or  less,  the  greatest  divergence  being 
in  the  fields  of  science  and  religion.  Your  committee  has  studiously 
held  this  fact  in  mind,  and  sought  to  select  only  such  books  as  ap¬ 
proach  nearest  to  our  ideal  as  to  fact  and  interpretation.  While  this 
has  been  our  objective,  we  do  not  submit  these  lists  for  your  criti¬ 
cism  with  the  understanding  that  the  books  named  meet  even  our 
minds.  We  have  selected  what  in  our  judgment  would  serve  the 
work  in  our  schools  best,  conscious  of  the  fact  that  they  fall  short  of 
our  ideal. 

In  brief,  our  method  was  as  follows:  a  person,  inside  or  outside  of 
the  committee,  was  asked  to  provide  a  list  of  books  in  the  field  in 
which  he  had  special  knowledge.  Next  the  committee  passed  on  the 
list,  and  then  it  was  manifolded  and  sent  to  our  various  schools  to  be 
criticized  by  teachers  who  teach  the  subject  or  subjects  covered  by 
the  list.  These  persons  were  urged  to  strike  out  or  add  to,  as  their 
judgment  dictated.  It  must  be  said,  however,  that  for  lack  of  time 
we  did  not  succeed  in  dealing  with  all  the  lists  in  this  way.  Few  ad¬ 
ditional  books  were  suggested,  and  the  only  criticism  offered  was 
that  the  lists  were  too  extensive,  that  our  schools  could  not  possibly 
buy  or  use  so  many  books  to  advantage.  This  criticism  had  to  do 
with  the  lists  on  science,  mathematics,  and  missions. 

In  this  connection  we  wish  to  say  that  the  books  we  have  listed 
are  not  submitted  to  this  Council  with  the  understanding  that  they 
are  recommended  to  our  schools  in  an  authoritative  way,  making 
it  obligatory  on  our  schools  to  put  them  into  their  libraries.  These 
lists  are  merely  suggestive,  and  our  schools  are  quite  free  to  select  as 
they  may  see  fit  or  reject  altogether.  Some  latitude  must  be  allowed 
in  this  matter,  since  it  remains  a  fact  that  the  work  done  in  our  va¬ 
rious  schools,  especially  our  colleges,  is  not  and  cannot  be  absolutely 
the  same  in  every  particular.  Indeed,  it  must  be  evident  to  us  all 
that  our  schools  doing  the  more  advanced  work,  must  to  a  degree 
specialize  and  each  college  emphasize  certain  lines  of  study.  For 
this  reason  it  follows  as  a  matter  of  course  that  the  complexion  of  the 
libraries  must  differ  accordingly.  It  is  with  this  understanding  and 
on  this  basis  that  your  committee  submits  these  lists  of  books. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  all  these  lists,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  those  on  mathematics  and  missions,  are  quite  incomplete. 
That  is  especially  true  of  those  that  deal  with  religious  and  miscel¬ 
laneous  subjects.  Works  on  biography  are  particularly  limited. 


228 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


All  the  books  represented  in  this  report  are  intended,  without  any 
exceptions,  for  our  college  libraries;  but  all  books  marked  with  the 
letter  “C”  are  intended  for  the  college  only,  and  not  for  our  acad¬ 
emies.  They  are  works  that  are  more  advanced  and  deal  with  sub¬ 
jects  in  a  more  technical  way. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  that  were  incidentally  listed  in  this 
report,  all  books  published  by  our  own  people  have  been  intention¬ 
ally  omitted,  in  the  conviction  that  all  our  library  committees  in  our 
various  schools  needed  no  suggestions  as  to  their  value  and  place. 

Some  of  the  books  in  these  lists  are  out  of  print,  and  hence  are 
available  only  in  secondhand  bookstores,  such  as  Dickinson,  London; 
Leary,  Philadelphia;  Schulte,  New  York  City;  and  others.  We  would 
recommend  that  our  schools  keep  in  touch  with  these  places.  Not 
infrequently  rare  and  valuable  works  can  be  secured  in  this  way. 
Dickinson  issues  catalogues  monthly,  which  are  sent  out  on  applica¬ 
tion.  The  address  is  R.  D.  Dickinson,  89  Farringdon  St.,  London. 

We  regret  that  we  have  not  been  able  for  lack  of  time  to  indicate 
publisher  and  price  of  every  book.  We  would  recommend  that  our 
library  committees  submit  these  lists  for  fuller  information  concern¬ 
ing  publishers,  prices,  etc.,  to  such  publishers  as  McClurg  or  Revell. 

The  valuable  list  of  choice  books  intended  for  our  normal  schools 
was  selected  by  a  special  committee,  the  chairman  of  which  is  Miss 
Myrta  Kellogg. 

The  present  is  an  age  of  books.  A  constant  volume  of  books  and 
other  matter  from  the  ever-present  press,  covering  every  field  of  knowl¬ 
edge  and  research,  is  pouring  forth  upon  us  night  and  day.  Much 
of  this  literary  stream  is  worthless  and  worse,  but  some  of  it  is  inval¬ 
uable  and  indispensable;  we  cannot  ignore  it,  we  cannot  do  our  work 
without  it.  We  are  under  the  stern  necessity  of  making  our  own 
selections.  In  view  of  this  fact,  we  wish  to  recommend  that  one  per¬ 
son  be  appointed  by  the  Educational  Department  to  represent  each 
“Section,”  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  prepare  book  reviews  of  desirable 
works  coming  from  the  press  in  his  special  line.  The  committee  has 
nothing  to  urge  as  to  the  nature  of  these  reviews,  or  how  often  or  where 
they  shall  appear,  though  our  mind  would  be  that  they  be  published 
in  the  Christian  Educator,  and  that  such  book  notices  appear  in  one 
issue  at  certain  intervals  rather  than  at  random  in  any  issue. 

J.  N.  Anderson  C.  C  Lewis 

M.  E.  Kern  Otto  John 

C.  L.  Benson  Committee 

Note. —  The  lists  of  books  were  duplicated  and  distributed  to 
the  delegates. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  CERTIFICATION 


{Read  by  Chairman  Lucas ) 

1.  A  special  permit  may  be  issued  by  the  union  secretary  on  rec¬ 
ommendation  of  the  conference  superintendent,  said  certificate  to  be 
given  only  under  special  conditions. 

2.  Third-Grade  Certificate. —  Good  for  only  one  year.  Applicant 
must  pass  union  conference  examinations,  or  present  proper  credits 
in  the  following  subjects:  — 


1. 

2. 
3- 


Bible  History 
Physiology 
Arithmetic 

4.  Grammar 

5.  U.  S.  History  and  Constitution 

6.  Geography 

7.  Nature  Study 


8.  Spelling 

9.  Reading 

10.  Penmanship 

11.  Theory  and  Practice 

12.  Civil  Government 

13.  Elementary  Agriculture 

14.  Elective:  Drawing  or 

Singing 

Average  standing,  75  per  cent;  minimum,  65  per  cent.  Additional 
requirement  —  a  careful  reading  of  '‘Education.” 

Renewal. —  A  third-grade  certificate  upon  which  no  subject  is 
graded  below  70  per  cent,  is,  upon  recommendation  of  the  educational 
superintendent,  renewable  twice  in  succession  from  date  of  original 
issue,  if  its  holder  has  taught  successfully  at  least  three  months  of  the 
time  for  which  it  was  originally  issued,  but  such  certificate  may  not  be 
renewed  more  than  twice.  The  application  for  renewal  must  state 
that  the  holder  has  shown  progress  by  attending  summer  school,  and 
by  presenting  a  Teachers’  Reading  Course  certificate. 

3.  Second-Grade  Certificate. —  Good  for  only  two  years.  Appli¬ 
cant  must  pass  union  conference  examinations,  or  present  proper 
credits  in  the  following  subjects:  — 

.  1.  Bible  History 

2.  Physiology 

3.  Arithmetic 

4.  Grammar 

5.  U.  S.  History  and  Constitution 

6.  Geography 

7.  Nature  'Study 


8.  Spelling 

9.  Reading 

10.  Penmanship 

11.  School  Management 

12.  Civil  Government 

13.  Elementary  Agriculture 

14.  Elective:  Drawing  or 

Singing 


15.  “Education” 

17.  Elementary  Bookkeeping. 


t6.  Elementary 
trines. 


Bible  Doc- 


229 


230 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Average  standing,  80  per  cent;  minimum,  70  per  cent.  Additional 
requirements  —  the  careful  reading  of  “Counsels  to  Teachers;”  one 
summer  school  certificate. 

A  normal  student  who  finishes  the  first  year  of  the  Normal  Course 
in  addition  to  the  academic  subjects  required,  will  receive  a  second- 
grade  certificate. 

Renewal. —  A  second-grade  certificate  upon  which  no  subject  is 
graded  below  75  per  cent,  is,  upon  recommendation  of  the  educational 
superintendent,  renewable  three  times  in  not  more  than  six  years  from 
date  of  original  issue,  if  its  holder  has  taught  at  least  twelve  months 
within  the  life  of  the  certificate,  original  or  renewed,  and  has  attended 
summer  school  and  presented  two  Teachers’  Reading  Course  certifi¬ 
cates. 

4.  First-Grade  Certificate. —  Good  for  only  three  years.  Appli¬ 
cant  must  have  had  either  eight  months  of  successful  teaching  in  de¬ 
nominational  schools,  or  a  year  of  practice  teaching  in  the  Normal 
Course.  He  must  also  pass  union  conference  examinations,  or  present 
proper  credits  in  the  following  subjects:  - — 


1.  Bible  History  10.  Penmanship 

2.  Physiology  n.  School  Management 

3.  Arithmetic  .  12.  Civil  Government 

4.  Grammar  13.  Elementary  Agriculture 

5.  U.  S.  History  and  Constitution  14.  Elective:  Drawing  or 

6.  Geography  Music 

7.  Nature  Study  15.  “Education” 

8.  Spelling  16.  Elementary  Bible  Doc- 

9.  Reading  trines 

17.  Elementary  Bookkeeping 


18.  Daniel  and  Revelation  21.  Elective:  Academic  Phys- 

19.  General  Science  iology  and  Botany,  or 

20.  General  History  Algebra,  or  Rhetoric. 

22.  Elective:  Domestic  Science  or  Manual  Training. 

Average  standing,  85  per  cent;  minimum,  75  per  cent.  A  normal 
graduate  will  be  granted  a  first-grade  certificate. 

Renewal. —  A  first-grade  certificate  upon  which  no  subject  is 
graded  below  80  per  cent,  is,  upon  recommendation  of  the  educational 
superintendent,  renewable  as  long  as  the  holder  continues  in  active 
teaching  at  least  sixteen  months  during  the  life  of  the  certificate, 
original  or  renewed,  presents  a  Reading  Course  certificate  for  each 
year,  attends  at  least  one  summer  school  out  of  three,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  Seventh-day  Adventist  Church  in  good  and  regular  standing. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


231 


5.  Professional  Certificate. —  Good  for  only  five  years.  Applicant 
must  have  had  at  least  twenty-four  months  of  teaching  experience 
and  two  years  of  Normal  Training,  and  must  also  pass  union  confer¬ 
ence  examinations,  or  present  proper  credits  in  the  following:  — 


1.  Bible  History  13. 

2.  Physiology  14. 

3.  Arithmetic  15. 

4.  Grammar  16. 

5.  U.  S.  History  and  Con-  17. 

stitution  18. 

6.  Geography  19. 

7.  Nature  Study  20. 

8.  Spelling  21. 

9.  Reading 

10.  Penmanship 

11.  School  Management  22. 

12.  Civil  Government 


Elementary  Agriculture 
Elective:  Drawing  or  Singing 
“Education” 

Elementary  Bible  Doctines 
Elementary  Bookkeeping 
Daniel  and  Revelation 
General  Science 
General  History 
Elective :  Academic  Physiology 
and  Botany,  or  Algebra,  or 
Rhetoric 

Elective:  Domestic  Science  or 
Manual  Training 


23.  History  of  Missions  and  Denominational  History 

24.  Elective:  Physics,  or  Chemistry,  or  Zoology,  or  Elementary 

Astronomy 

25.  Literature 

26.  Plane  Geometry 

27.  Elective:  Choose  one  subject  from  those  not  taken  under  21 

in  first-grade  certificate. 

28.  Elective:  History  of  Education  or  Psychology. 

Average  standing,  90  per  cent;  minimum,  80  per  cent. 

Renewal. — A  professional  certificate  upon  which  no  subject  is 

graded  below  80  per  cent,  is,  upon  recommendation  of  the  educational 
superintendent,  renewable  as  long  as  the  holder  continues  in  active 
teaching  at  least  three  out  of  five  years  during  the  life  of  the  certifi¬ 
cate,  original  or  renewed,  and  presents  a  Reading  Course  certificate 
each  year,  attends  at  least  one  summer  school  out  of  five,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Seventh-day  Adventist  Church  in  good  and  regular 
standing. 

6.  Requirements  for  Life  Certificates. —  The  General  Department 
of  Education  shall  grant  two  classes  of  Life  Certificates  on  the  follow¬ 
ing  conditions  > — 

(1)  Life  Certificate. —  This  certificate  shall  be  granted  to  — 

Those  who  hold  the  Bachelor’s  degree  from  a  Seventh-day  Ad¬ 
ventist  college,  and  who,  while  pursuing  their  course,  have  given  four 
units  to  pedagogical  subjects,  and  after  graduation  have  taught 


232 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


successfully  for  three  years,  and  are  recommended  hv  the  union 
conference  secretary  in  whose  territory  they  have  taught. 

(2)  Normal  Life  Certificate. —  This  certificate  shall  be  granted  to 
those  who,  after  receiving  the  normal  diploma,  have  taught  success¬ 
fully  for  three  years,  and  are  recommended  by  the  union  conference 
secretary  in  whose  territory  they  have  taught. 

(3)  Those  who,  by  reason  of  long  and  successful  teaching  and  school 
management,  have  shown  that  they  possess  qualifications  and  attain¬ 
ments  equivalent  to  those  required  under  (1)  or  (2),  and  who  are 
recommended  by  the  union  conference  secretary  in  whose  territory 
they  have  taught. 

7.  Accepted  Credits. —  (a)  In  the  examination  of  teachers,  a  credit  of 
90  per  cent  or  more  is  reckoned  permanent  as  long  as  the  holder  is 
actively  engaged  in  teaching  or  studying  under  a  teacher  (without 
lapse  of  more  than  one  year),  whether  said  standing  be  obtained  in 
a  teachers’  examination  or  in  subjects  above  the  eighth  grade  in  one 
of  our  colleges  or  academies,  or  the  Fireside  Correspondence  School. 

(b)  Credits  of  85  per  cent  or  above  will  be  accepted  if  derived 
from  the  same  sources  and  if  not  more  than  three  years  old. 

(c)  Credits  from  High  School  and  State  Examining  Boards  will  be 
accepted  in  harmony  with  the  conditions  under  (a)  and  (b),  excepting 
Civil  Government,  Geography,  Physiology,  General  Science,  United 
States  History,  and  General  History,  in  which  subjects  some  ad¬ 
ditional  work  may  be  required  for  denominational  reasons. 

8.  In  all  cases,  whether  issued  by  the  union  conference  department 
or  by  the  General  Department,  and  for  whatever  grade,  certificates 
will  remain  valid  only  so  long  as  the  holder  is  a  member  of  a  Seventh- 
day  Adventist  church,  in  good  and  regular  standing. 

Voted,  That  the  naming  of  the  three  certificates  be  referred  to  the 
General  Department,  to  ascertain  the  prevailing  nomenclature  through¬ 
out  the  country,  and  name  ours  in  harmony  with  that. 

Voted,  That  substitutes  on  certificates  be  referred  to  the  General 
Department,  with  power  to  insert  their  decision  accordingly. 


H.  G.  Lucas 
J.  A.  L.  Derby 
W.  W.  Ruble 
LI.  M.  Hiatt 
Sarah  E.  Peck 


C.  A.  Russell 
M.  M.  Hare 
C.  B.  Hughes 
M.  E.  Cady 
M.  B.  Van  Kirk 

Committee 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  STANDARDS 

(. Read  by  Chairman  Howell) 

In  introducing  the  second  report  of  the  Committee  on  Stand¬ 
ards,  it  may  be  well  for  us  to  review  briefly  the  causes  that  led  up 
to  the  appointment  of  this  committee,  and  to  point  out  some  of  the 
advantages  in  adopting  a  definite  plan  by  which  to  determine  our 
goal  and  gauge  our  progress  toward  it.  If  we  look  into  Holy  Writ 
for  principles  to  guide  us,  we  hear  Isaiah  saying,  “Lift  up  a  standard 
for  the  people.”  We  hear  Paul  reciting  his  personal  experience  in 
seeking  to  attain  to  a  certain  objective  set  before  him:  “Brethren,  I 
count  not  myself  to  have  apprehended:  but  this  one  thing  I  do,  for¬ 
getting  those  things  which  are  behind,  and  reaching  forth  unto  those 
things  which  are  before,  I  press  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the 
high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus.” 

The  occasion  for  our  undertaking  to  establish  certain  standards 
was  found  in  the  large  variation  of  practice  among  our  schools, 
which  are  working  toward  one  common  end.  This  situation  was 
created,  and  the  necessity  of  providing  a  remedy  increased,  by  the 
wide  distribution  of  our  schools  and  the  consequent  lack  of  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  their  managers  to  come  in  touch  with  one  another’s  work. 
Our  total  school  enrollment  the  world  over  scarcely  equals  one  half 
the  pupil  enrollment  in  one  of  our  large  cities.  We  could  bring  all 
our  teachers  to  the  city  of  Washington  and  yet  supply  numerically 
less  than  half  the  positions  in  its  public  schools,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  universities,  colleges,  and  private  institutions  located  within  the 
city  limits.  Yet  all  the  Washington  teachers  are  under  one  super¬ 
intendent.  He  can  call  any  or  all  of  them  into  personal  conference 
whenever  he  chooses.  A  single  board  of  education  draws  up  their 
course  of  study,  provides  necessary  facilities,  and  regulates  the 
general  policies  and  plans  by  which  the  principals  and  teachers  work. 

These  three  principal  causes,  then, —  widely  distributed  forces; 
wide  variations  in  teacher  qualifications,  length  of  instruction  periods, 
library  and  laboratory  equipment,  requirements  for  graduation,  and 
financial  policy;  and  the  singleness  of  aim  in  our  entire  educational 
effort, — these  causes,  coupled  with  the  frequent  migrations  of  students 
resulting  from  the  nature  of  our  denominational  work,  led  the  Depart¬ 
ment  of  Education  to  the  appointment  of  a  committee  prior  to  the 
General  Conference  of  1913,  with  a  view  to  establishing  certain 
standards  which  by  common  agreement  we  could  work  by  in  order 
to  secure  greater  harmony,  uniformity,  and  results  in  our  educational 
effort.  This  committee  was  designated  the  College  Standards 


233 


234 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Committee,  and  presented  its  first  report  to  the  Educational  Council 
connected  with  the  General  Conference.  That  the  adoption  of  this 
incomplete  report  has  proved  beneficial  cannot  be  doubted.  Not 
only  has  it  stimulated  our  colleges  to  more  determined  and  systematic 
effort  to  strengthen  their  work,  but  it  has  also  exercised  a  good  moral 
influence  upon  our  academies.  This  is  seen  especially  in  improved 
equipment  and  in  the  securing  of  better  qualified  teachers,  some  of 
their  faculties  now  being  made  up  almost  entirely  of  college  grad¬ 
uates.  The  moral  effect  has  extended  in  some  degree  also  to  our 
elementary  schools. 

The  principle  of  standardization  is  represented  in  several  features 
of  our  denominational  work.  We  pay  a  tenth  of  our  increase  for  the 
support  of  the  ministry.  We  are  attempting  to  raise  twenty  cents 
a  week  for  missions  and  home  relief.  The  Sabbath  schools  have 
three  goals:  daily  study  of  the  lesson,  personal  work  for  every  pupil, 
a  million  dollars  for  missions.  The  Missionary  Volunteers  have 
set  their  annual  stakes  at  2,000  conversions,  $25,000  for  missions, 
and  2,000  persons  reading  the  Bible  through.  One  of  our  union 
conferences  has  set  out  to  raise  an  educational  relief  and  improve¬ 
ment  fund  of  $150,000  in  eighteen  months.  One  of  our  colleges 
has  fixed  its  goal  at  four  hundred  students  and  twenty-five  college 
graduates  for  next  year,  freedom  from  debt  by  New  Year’s,  one 
hundred  students  a  year  in  the  home  field,  and  fifteen  a  year  in  foreign 
lands. 

We  are  living  in  a  period  of  goals  and  standards  and  attainments. 
The  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  demands  our  best,  and  the 
best  can  be  more  easily  measured  in  definite  units.  Like  Paul,  we 
cannot  count  ourselves  to  have  attained,  but  we  can  press  on  toward 
fixed  marks  till  we  gain  ability  and  courage  to  set  them  higher. 

After  the  adoption  of  the  College  Standards  report  two  years 
ago,  action  was  taken  to  continue  the  committee  for  the  purpose  of 
completing  its  work  for  colleges,  and  of  preparing  a  similar  report 
for  our  academies,  four  academy  representatives  being  added  to  its 
membership  to  assist  in  this  work. 


W.  E.  Howell 
Frederick  Griggs 
O.  J.  Graf 
E.  C.  Kellogg 
M.  E.  Kern 


B.  F.  Machlan 
H.  G.  Lucas 
J.  L.  Kay 
J.  B.  White 

Committee 


A  separate  committee  on  Elementary  Standards  was  appointed, 
which  reported  direct  to  the  Council.  Their  report  is  given  first, 
beginning  on  the  next  page. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  ELEMENTARY 

STANDARDS 

{Read  by  Chairman  Russell) 

1.  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  A  TEACHER. 

(a)  General  Education. —  At  least  12  grades. 

(b)  Normal  Training. —  Two  years.  This  should  be  in  addition  to 
the  12  years,  making  14  grades,  thus  completing  the  Normal  Course. 
We  recommend  that  mature  students  be  allowed  one  year  in  the  12 
grades,  where  the  full  Normal  Course  cannot  be  taken. 

(c)  Age. —  Eighteen  years  or  over. 

(d)  Certification. —  The  teacher  must  hold  one  of  the  regular 
certificates  issued  by  the  Department  of  Education,  either  general 
or  union. 

(e)  Spirituality . —  The  teacher  must  be  a  member,  in  good  and 
regular  standing,  of  some  Seventh-day  Adventist  church. 

2.  AMOUNT  OF  WORK  CARRIED. 

Not  more  than  six  full  grades,  unless  the  membership  is  very 
small.  Where  all  eight  grades  are  represented  in  the  school,  we 
recommend  an  assistant.  Under  no  circumstances  should  a  teacher 
be  expected  to  carry  eight  grades  and  teach  classes  in  the  ninth. 

3.  RESPONSIBILITIES  OUTSIDE  OF  SCHOOLROOM. 

(a)  Supervise  all  outdoor  recreation. 

(b)  Cooperate  with  parent  in  care  of  pupil  in  going  to  and  from 
school. 

(c)  Take  an  interest  in  church  activities,  especially  in  the  weekly 
prayer  meeting,  Sabbath  school,  and  Missionary  Volunteer  Society, 
guarding  against  being  overtaxed. 

(d)  The  teacher  should  visit  the  homes  of  the  patrons  as  frequently 
as  possible. 

4.  HOME  STUDY. 

(a)  Grades  4-6,  in  general  not  more  than  one  major  subject. 

(b)  Grades  7-8,  in  general  not  more  than  two  major  subjects. 

5.  LIBRARY. 

At  least  one  hundred  volumes,  selected  from  our  leading  denom¬ 
inational  books,  as  “Patriarchs  and  Prophets,”  “The  Great  Contro¬ 
versy,”  “The  Desire  of  Ages.”  “Early  Writings,”  “Thoughts  on  Dan¬ 
iel  and  the  Revelation,”  “The  Story  of  Daniel,”  “The  Seer  of  Patmos,” 
“Education,”  “Counsels  to  Teachers,”  Volumes  VI  to  IX  of  the 

235 


236 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Testimonies,  “Christ’s  Object  Lessons,”  “Ministry  of  Healing,” 
“Steps  to  Christ,”  “The  Acts  of  the  Apostles,”  “The  Great  Second 
Advent  Movement,”  a  set  of  Encyclopedias  (Funk  and  Wagnalls 
$10  set  recommended),  Carpenter’s  Geographical  and  Industrial 
Readers,  Supplementary  Readers,  our  Junior  and  Senior  Course 
books,  missionary  books,  books  on  woodwork,  sewing,  gardening, 
and  general  manumental  work,  supplementary  books  on  United 
States  History,  Civics,  and  Elementary  Science,  an  Academic  or 
Collegiate  dictionary  (not  the  unabridged). 

6.  EQUIPMENT. 

(a)  General. —  Individual  desks,  suitable  teacher’s  desk,  recitation 
seats,  one  square  yard  of  blackboard  per  pupil,  crayon,  erasers,  rulers. 

(b)  Sanitary. —  Spigot  or  sanitary  drinking  fountain,  individual 
drinking  cups,  individual  or  paper  towels,  lavatory  or  wash  basin, 
soap,  mirror,  clothes  brush,  shoe  brush,  broom,  dust-pan,  sweeping 
compound  or  sawdust  saturated  with  coal  oil,  jacketed  stove  or  other 
means  of  heating,  thermometer,  proper  means  of  ventilation,  sanitary 
toilets,  ample  light.  Desks  should  be  so  arranged  that  light  will  come 
from  behind  and  over  left  shoulder  —  never  in  front. 

(c)  Bible. —  Such  maps  and  prophetic  charts  as  cannot  be  hand¬ 
made. 

(d)  Geography. —  At  least  a  twelve-inch  globe,  map  of  the  hemi¬ 
spheres,  map  of  each  continent,  map  of  the  State  in  which  school  is 
situated.  Maps  should  be  in  case  if  possible. 

(e)  Nature. —  Such  appliances  as  are  necessary  to  demonstrate 
experiments  called  for  in  textbook. 

(f)  Physiology. —  Paper  manikins  and  such  apparatus  as  is  nec¬ 
essary  to  conduct  experiments  in  demonstrating  the  text. 

(g)  Manumental. —  (i)  Woodwork:  One  bench  for  every  two 
pupils  taking  the  course,  and  set  of  few  tools  —  $io  worth  in  each 
school.  (2)  Sewing:  Needles,  scissors,  tape,  thimbles.  (3)  Cooking 
and  gardening:  Home  equipment  may  be  used  under  general  directions 
of  teacher,  the  work  to  be  done  at  school  if  possible;  some  kind  of 
stove,  cooking  outfit,  and  dishes,  for  the  cooking  class.  For  gardening, 
a  set  of  tools  for  each  pupil,  consisting  of  spade,  hoe,  rake,  and  trowel, 
and  one  tape  or  measuring  rod. 

7.  LENGTH  OF  CLASS  PERIOD. 


Grades  1-4 . 10  to  15  minutes 

Grades  5-8 . 15  to  20  minutes 

Manual  training . 1^2  hours  a  week 

Drawing . 30  minutes  two  days  a  week 


Music  and  Penmanship,  .each  15  minutes  3  days  a  week 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


237 


8.  LENGTH  OF  DAILY  SESSION. 

Grades  1-3 . 

Grades  4-8 . 

9.  LENGTH  OF  SCHOOL  YEAR. 

At  least  36  weeks,  174  days  of  school. 

10.  FINANCIAL  MANAGEMENT. 

Tuition  and  pledges  in  sufficient  amount  to  provide  for  all  items 
of  expense.  Pledges  to  be  paid  monthly  for  12  months  in  the  year. 
(For  a  complete  financial  policy,  see  “Council  Proceedings,”  1915.) 

11.  PROMOTION. 

Hold  six-weeks  period  tests.  Average  grades  from  these  tests  with 
daily  class  standing,  on  an  equal  ratio.  This  average  is  to  be  placed 
upon  the  pupil’s  report  card,  and  counts  50  per  cent  on  his  final  grade. 
The  final  examination  counts  50  per  cent.  Seventy-five  per  cent 
is  required  as  a  minimum  passing  grade  in  any  one  subject,  and  an 
average  of  80  per  cent  in  final  examinations  for  promotion.  Conference 
examinations  must  be  used  in  all  finishing  subjects.  A  pupil  failing 
to  pass  in  not  more  than  two  subjects  may  be  allowed  to  enter  the 
next  grade,  but  must  take  those  subjects  again  in  the  lower  grade. 

12.  TO  GO  INTO  EFFECT. 

The  provisions  of  this  report  are  recommended  to  go  into  effect 
Sept.  1,  1917,  but  should  be  put  into  operation  as  much  sooner  as 
possible. 

C.  A.  Russell  Katherine  B.  Hale 

VV.  W.  Ruble  Jessie  B.  Osborne 

Sarah  Peck  Committee 


3F2  to  4  hours 
.  .5  to  6  hours 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  ACADEMIC 

STANDARDS 

{Read  by  Chairman  Howell ) 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Academic  Standards  was  adopted 
as  follows:  — 

A  —  Spiritual  Basis. 

1.  That  the  determining  standard  in  our  academy  education, 
and  the  continual  touchstone  of  its  success,  be  the  spiritual  power 
that  permeates  and  constantly  molds  all  its  work  as  a  direct  result 
of  according  the  Bible  its  rightful  place  in  the  instruction  given, 
and  of  conducting  the  work  of  the  school  in  full  harmony  with  the 
principles  of  Christian  education  given  by  the  spirit  of  prophecy. 


238 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


2.  That  we  affirm  it  as  our  belief  that  the  presence  of  this  power 
will  result  in  the  patient  building  of  solid  character  in  our  students 
by  proper  disciplinary  and  cultural  means,  and  in  the  development 
of  efficiency  for  soul-winning;  to  deny  either  of  these  propositions  is 
to  deny  the  necessity  for  the  Christian  school  and  to  affirm  the  futil¬ 
ity  of  Christian  effort. 

3.  That  the  realizing  of  such  a  spiritual  standard  will  assure  the 
strongest  possible  stimulus  to  thoroughgoing  mental  effort  and  to 
conscientious  care  of  the  bodily  health  through  abstemious  habits  and 
useful  labor. 

B  —  Technical  Standards . 

1.  That  the  full  work  of  a  teacher  do  not  exceed  twenty  sixty- 
minute  hours  a  week,  including  vocational  or  drill  subjects,  and 
providing  that  laboratory  work  be  reckoned  at  half  value  the  same  as 
that  of  students.  It  is  understood  that  on  this  basis  a  teacher  do  a 
reasonable  share  of  committee,  religious,  and  other  general  work  in 
addition  to  his  class  work;  and  that  the  demands  of  each  teacher’s 
work  on  his  time  and  strength  be  carefully  considered  in  adjusting 
the  work  of  the  faculty. 

2.  That  the  preceptor  and  preceptress  in  homes  of  twenty-five 
students  or  more  be  not  required  to  carry  more  than  ten  hours  of  class 
work  a  week,  under  the  same  general  conditions  as  those  specified 
for  the  full-time  teacher. 

3.  That  the  academic  attainments  of  a  teacher  be  at  least  two 
years  beyond  the  highest  grade  taught  in  the  school,  and  include 
Education,  General  Method,  Psychology,  and  one  year  of  supervised 
teaching  in  the  common  branches  based  on  the  principles  of  Christian 
education. 

4.  That  students  spend  an  average  of  at  least  one  hour  and  a 
quarter  in  the  preparation  of  each  lesson. 

5.  That  the  library  of  the  ten-grade  school  contain  at  least  500 
volumes;  of  the  twelve-grade  school,  1,500;  of  the  fourteen-grade 
school,  2,500;  these  numbers  to  be  selected  for  academy  use,  to  exclude 
public  documents,  and  to  have  at  least  an  average  purchase  value 
of  seventy-five  cents  each.  The  number  of  culture  books  should  be 
about  fifty  per  cent  of  the  total,  and  include  denominational,  mission¬ 
ary,  and  Young  People’s  books,  with  duplicates  of  those  most  used. 
The  other  fifty  per  cent  should  be  well  apportioned  among  the  various 
lines  of  study.  Besides  books,  there  should  be  a  reasonable  variety 
of  current  magazines  and  papers. 

6.  That  the  science  equipment  be  that  adopted  in  the  report  of 
the  Committee  on  Science  Equipment. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


239 


7.  That  sufficient  annual  income  be  assured  to  cover  operating 
expenses. 

8.  That  the  minimum  value  of  a  unit  be  the  work  done  in  thirty 
six  weeks  of  five  forty-five-minute  recitations,  or  its  equivalent. 

9.  That  the  requirements  for  the  tenth-grade  certificate  be  as 
follow^:  — 

Literary  subjects  8  units 

or 

Literary  7  and  Drawing  or  Music  1,  or  Agri¬ 
culture  1,  to  a  total  of  8. 

Manumental  (lessons  and  practice  on  a  trade)  1  unit 

Total  9  units 

10.  That  the  requirements  for  academic  graduation  be  as  fol¬ 
lows:  — 

Literary  subjects  16  units 

or 

Literary  14  and  Drawing  or  Music  1  and  Physical 
Culture  1,  or  Agriculture  1,  to  a  total  of  16. 

Manumental  (lessons  and  practice  on  a  trade 

completed)  2  units 

Total  18  units 

Special:  Minimum  standing  of  85  per  cent  in  Spelling,  Reading, 
Penmanship. 

11.  Time  Definition  of  Units 

Literary  (study,  1^4  hours;  recitation,  ^  hour). —  Two  hours  a  day, 
ten  hours  a  week,  360  hours  a  year. 

Drawing  or  Music  (practice  and  lessons). —  Through  two  or  more 
years  to  total  of  360  hours. 

Physical  Culture  (practice). —  Total  in  four  years,  360  hours. 
One-fourth  unit  a  year  is  allowed  on  physical  labor  done  to  the  amount 
of  15  hours  a  week,  on  condition  that  the  physical  culture  class  be 
taken  at  least  once  a  week. 

Manumental  (practice  and  lessons). —  Five  hours  a  week,  180 
hours  a  year  —  one-half  unit.  Total  in  four  years,  720  hours — 2 
units. 

12.  That  scrupulous  cleanliness  be  maintained  throughout  all 
building§,  including  toilets,  bathrooms,  and  dust  closets;  that  plumb¬ 
ing  be  kept  in  constant  good  repair;  that  premises  be  kept  free  from 
refuse,  decaying  vegetable  matter,  and  other  unsanitary  debris;  that 


240 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


buildings  occupied  by  students  or  teachers  be  properly  screened  during 
warm  weather,  and  that  conditions  favorable  to  the  breeding  of 
Hies  or  mosquitoes  be  carefully  removed  and  guarded  against;  that 
personal  hygiene  be  diligently  taught  and  required;  and  that  sanitary 
drinking  fountains  or  individual  cups  and  individual  towels  be  pro¬ 
vided. 

13.  That  the  State  requirements  for  fire  protection  be  provided. 

14.  That  the  standards  on  library,  science  equipment,  teacher 
qualification,  and  graduation  take  effect  Sept.  1,  1917;  but  that 
meanwhile  each  school  do  all  it  can  toward  making  them  operative 
sooner. 


COLLEGE  STANDARDS 

As  a  supplementary  report  on  college  standards,  we  recommend:  — 

1.  That  in  the  report  adopted  at  the  General  Conference  Educa¬ 
tional  Council  in  1913,  the  first  part  of  B-9  (a),  “That  the  full  work 
of  the  teacher  be  four  regular  classes,  with  a  vocational  class  or  its 
equivalent,”  be  amended  to  read,  “That  the  full  work  of  a  teacher 
do  not  exceed  twenty  sixty-minute  hours  a  week,  including  manu- 
mental  or  drill  subjects,  and  providing  that  laboratory  work  be  reck¬ 
oned  at  half  value,  the  same  as  that  of  students.” 

2.  That  the  minimum  requirement  for  graduation  be  120  sixty- 
minute  hours  or  160  forty-five-minute  hours;  that  for  graduation 
from  the  Ministerial  College  Course,  experience  in  at  least  one  con¬ 
tinuous  tent  or  hall  effort  of  eight  to  twelve  weeks  be  required;  and 
that  one  season’s  experience  in  colporteur  work  be  strongly  recom¬ 
mended. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  COURSES 

The  Committee  on  Courses  of  Study  has  at  this  time  given  care¬ 
ful  consideration  to  the  various  grades  of  work  and  courses  in  our 
schools  throughout  the  elementary  school,  the  academy,  and  the 
college.  The  elementary  grades  from  one  to  eight  inclusive  have 
been  revised  by  the  Committee  on  Elementary  Standards,  who  make 
their  report  direct  to  the  Council.  The  Academic  Course,  College 
Course,  and  courses  leading  to  vocational  training  have  been  con¬ 
sidered  by  a  representative  committee  consisting  of  the  Committees 
on  Standards  and  Courses,  college  and  academy  heads,  and  college 
department  teachers. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


241 


In  the  Academic  Course  every  subject  offered  has  been  considered 
as  to  its  part  and  place  in  the  course  of  instruction.  Thee  ommittee 
has  endeavored  to  guard  against  crowding  the  course  too  full.  Man- 
umental  training  is  placed  on  an  equal  footing  with  literary  work, 
and  place  has  been  made  for  drawing  and  music,  so  that  the  academic 
student  can  have  credit  for  a  limited  amount  of  such  instruction.  A 
place  has  been  made  for  physical  culture,  with  credit  allowed.  Four 
years  of  Bible  are  allowed,  including  history  of  missions  and  denomi¬ 
national  history.  Arithmetic  has  been  eliminated  from  the  course, 
and  algebra  placed  in  the  ninth  grade.  In  the  eleventh  and  twelfth 
grades,  electives  in  language,  mathematics,  and  science  have  been 
allowed  to  make  the  course  more  elastic,  better  fitting  it  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  various  schools. 

The  College  Course  in  its  content  consists  of  eight  required  units 
and  eight  electives.  In  order  to  direct  the  students  in  choosing  work, 
the  group  system  of  choosing  electives  is  recommended.  By  this 
means  the  student  will  be  required  to  major  in  one  or  two  lines,  and 
not  to  scatter  his  work. 

A  Ministerial  College  Course  is  also  recommended,  consisting  of 
eleven  units  of  required  work  and  five  elective.  By  allowing  electives 
the  student  is  given  some  latitude  in  choosing  his  subjects,  the  field 
work  being  left  to  a  committee  to  standardize. 

The  Normal  Course  is  so  altered  as  to  make  it  possible  for  a  Normal 
graduate  to  complete  a  College  Course  in  two  years  after  our  Normal 
Departments  have  been  standardized  and  approved  by  the  Division 
Department. 

The  commercial  teachers  in  attendance  at  this  council  presented 
to  the  committee  a  Combined  Business  and  Shorthand  Course  of 
two  years,  a  Shorthand  Course  of  one  year,  and  a  Business  Course 
of  one  year.  The  prerequisite  of  twelve  grades  is  recommended 
for  each.  With  such  changes  as  were  suggested,  these  courses  passed 
the  committee.  It  was  voted  that  for  the  finishing  of  either  of  these 
courses,  two  years  of  Bible  be  required. 

In  conclusion,  I  wish  to  say  that  the  work  of  this  committee  has 
been  attended  with  a  conscientious  and  broad-minded  spirit,  and  much 
time  has  been  spent  in  order  that  conclusions  might  be  reached  that 
would  be  for  the  best  interests  of  our  educational  work  and  be  possible 
of  adoption  by  all  our  schools. 

J.  L.  Shaw  Sarah  Peck 

Frederick  Griggs  J.  G  Lamson 

C.^W.  Irwin  J.  A.  L.  Derby 


O.  J.  Graf 
M.  E.  Olsen 
C.  L.  Stone 

16 


M.  E.  Cady 
M.  B.  Van  Kirk 


Committee 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  COURSES  OF  STUDY 


The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Courses  of  Study  was  presented 
by  Chairman  J.  L.  Shaw,  and  adopted  as  follows,  chairman  Russell 
of  the  sub-committee  on  Elementary  Course  presenting  that  part:  — 

ELEMENTARY  COURSE 

First  Grade 

Bible  and  Nature. —  Stories  of  Creator  and  Saviour.  Oral  work. 
See  Educational  Bulletin,  No.  12.  Correlated  work,  lan¬ 
guage. 

Reading  and  Language. —  Blackboard  or  chart  work,  6  to  12  weeks. 
True  Education  Reader  Series,  Book  One.  Supplementary: 
“Our  Little  Folks’  Bible  Nature,”  “Plant  Life,*”  “Wide- 
Awake  Primer,”  “Arnold  Primer.” 

Spelling  and  Phonics. —  Correlated  with  reading. 

Manumental. —  Gardening,  cardboard  sewing,  paper  work,  care  of 
schoolroom.  Correlated  work  in  language. 

Numbers. —  Correlated  with  manumental  work. 

Penmanship. —  Drills  with  Palmer  System. 

Music. —  Rote  singing,  intonation,  and  simple  rhythm. 

Drawing. —  (Including  clay  modeling.) 

Second  Grade 

Bible  and  Nature. —  Continued  from  first  grade.  See  Educational 
Bulletin,  No.  12.  Correlated  work  continued. 

Reading  and  Language. —  True  Education  Reader  Series,  Book 
Two.  Supplementary :  “Animal  Life,”  “Story  of  Joseph.” 

Spelling  and  Phonics. —  Miss  Hale’s  Speller,  Part  1. 

Manumental. —  Continued.  Loom  weaving. 

Numbers. —  Correlated  with  manumental  work. 

Penmanship. —  Continued. 

Music. —  Continued. 

Drawing. —  Continued. 

Third  Grade 

Bible  and  Nature. —  Oral  work  combined  with  seat  work,  reading 
and  language  from  the  Bible.  See  Educational  Bulletin, 
No.  12. 

Reading  and  Language. —  True  Education  Reader  Series,  Book 
Three.  Supplementary:  “The  House  We  Live  In,”  “Uncle 
Ben’s  Cobblestones,”  “Christ  Our  Saviour,”  Little  Friend. 

Spelling. —  Miss  Hale’s  Speller,  Part  2. 

Manumental. —  Continued.  Raffia. 


242 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


243 


Numbers. —  Stone-Millis’  Primary  Arithmetic,  Parts  One  and  Two 
Correlated  with  manumental  work. 

Penmanship. —  Continued. 

Music. —  Continued. 

Drawing. —  Continued. 

Fourth  Grade 

Bible. —  Bible  Lessons,  Book  One. 

Nature. —  Bible  Nature  Series,  Book  One,  with  notebook  work. 

Reading  and  Language. —  True  Education  Reader  Series,  Book 
Four.  Supplementary:  Selections  from  Hooker’s  “Child’s 
Book  of  Nature,’’  “First  Book  of  Birds." 

Spelling. —  Miss  Hale’s  Speller,  Part  3. 

Manumental. —  Continued.  Sewing  and  cardboard  work  begun; 
paper  work  and  loom  weaving  discontinued. 

Arithmetic. — Stone-Millis’  Primary  Arithmetic,  completed. 

Penmanship. —  Continued. 

Music. —  Sight  Singing. 

Drawing. —  Continued. 

Fifth  Grade 

Bible. —  Bible  Lessons,  Book  Two. 

Nature. —  Bible  Nature  Series,  Book  Two,  with  notebook  work. 

Reading  and  Language. —  True  Education  Reader  Series,  Book 
Five.  Supplementary:  Selections  from  Hooker’s  “Child’s 
Book  of  Nature,"  Youth's  Instructor,  “Friends  and  Foes  in 
Field  and  Forest." 

Spelling. —  Miss  Hale’s  Speller,  Part  4. 

Manumental. —  Continued.  Knife  and  scroll  saw  work;  domestic 
economy;  basket  work;  keeping  of  practical  accounts. 

Arithmetic. —  Stone-Millis’  Complete,  or  Intermediate  Arithmetic, 
Part  One. 

Penmanship. —  Continued. 

Music. —  Continued. 

Drawing . —  Continued. 

Sixth  Grade 

Bible. —  Bible  Lessons,  Book  Three. 

Nature. —  Bible  Nature  Series,  Book  Three,  with  notebook  work. 

Reading  and  Language. —  True  Education  Reader  Series,  Book 
Six,  first  part.  Supplementary:  Carpenter’s  Geographical 
and  Industrial  Readers,  “The  Desire  of  Ages,"  Youth's  In¬ 
structor. 

Spelling. —  Hicks’s  Champion  Speller,  and  correlated  work  from 
Bible  Nature,  and  other  studies. 


44 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Manumental. —  Continued. 

Arithmetic. —  Stone-Millis’  Complete  (Part  Two,  sixth  year)  or 
Intermediate  Arithmetic  completed. 

Penmanship .—  Continued. 

Music.—  Continued. 

Drawing. —  Continued. 

Seventh  Grade 

Bible. —  Bible  Lessons,  Book  Four. 

Geography. —  Morton’s  Advanced,  completed. 

Physiology. —  Coleman’s  Hygienic  Physiology.  One  semester. 

Reading. —  True  Education  Reader,  Book  Six,  completed.  One 
semester.  Supplementary:  "The  Acts  of  the  Apostles,”  Car¬ 
penter’s  Geographical  and  Industrial  Readers,  Evans’s  “First 
Lessons  in  American  History,”  “Dawn  of  American  History 
in  Europe,”  Wm.  Nida. 

Language. —  Bell’s  “Natural  Method  in  English,”  revised,  to 
Lesson  138,  page  205. 

Spelling. —  Hicks’s  Champion  Speller,  continued. 

Manumental. —  Continued.  Chair  caning;  bench  work;  cooking. 
Discontinue  knife,  scroll  saw,  and  cardboard. 

Arithmetic. —  Stone-Millis’  Complete  (Part  One,  seventh  year)  or 
Advanced  Arithmetic,  Part  One. 

Penmanship. —  Continued. 

Music.—  Continued. 

Drawing. —  Continued. 

Eighth  Grade 

Bible. —  Prophetic  History.  Supplementary:  “The  Story  of  Dan¬ 
iel,”  “The  Seer  of  Patmos.” 

U.  S.  History. —  Dickson’s  American  History  for  the  Grammar 
School.  Supplementary:  “United  States  in  Prophecy.” 

Civics. —  First  Semester.  Supplementary:  “Rights  of  Man.” 

Agriculture. —  Second  semester. 

Reading. —  Continue  with  seventh-grade  class  if  pupils  need  further 
work  in  reading. 

Language. —  Bell’s  “Natural  Method  in  English,”  revised,  com¬ 
pleted. 

Spelling. —  Hicks’s  Champion  Speller,  completed. 

Manumental. —  Continued. 

Arithmetic. —  Stone-Millis’  Complete  or  Advanced  Arithmetic, 
completed. 

Penmanship. —  Continued. 

Music. —  Continued. 

Drawing. —  Continued. 


COUNCIL  PROCEED!  JN  OS 


245 


ACADEMIC  COURSE 


Ninth  Grade 


New  Testament  History.* 

Elementary  Bookkeeping,  General  Science. 

Algebra.* 

Composition. 

Tenth  Grade  t 

Old  Testament  or  Elementary  Doctrines  and  Testimonies. 
General  History. 

Physiology  and  Botany.* 

Rhetoric. 

Eleventh  Grade 

Missions,  Denominational  History. 

Latin  or  Modern  Language. 

E  Plane  Geometry.! 

E  Astronomy,  Zoology. 

E  Chemistry. 

E  Physics. 

Twelfth  Grade 


Bible  Doctrines  or  Daniel  and  Revelation  or  Old  Testament. 
Literature. 

Physics  or  Chemistry. 

Latin  or  Modern  Language. 

E  Algebra  and  Solid  Geometry. 

E  American  History  and  Civics,  or  Astronomy  and  Zoology. 
E  English. 


Voted ,  To  adopt  the  semester  plan  in  all  our  colleges  and  acad 
emies. 


Units  Required  for  Graduation 


For  explanation,  see  page  239,  paragraphs  9  and  10. 


*  Note. —  New  Testament  may  exchange  grades  with  Old  Testament.  Algebra 
may  exchange  grades  with  Physiology  and  Botany. 

t  Note. —  Nine  units  are  required  for  the  tenth-grade  certificate,  one  of  which 
may  be  Drawing  or  Music  instead  of  one  Literary,  and  one  of  which  must  be 
Manumental. 

t  Note. —  The  electives  provided  in  the  eleventh  grade  are  to  serve  as  a  basis 
for  schools  to  build  their  course ;  they  are  not  to  be  placed  before  students  for 
individual  selection.  No  school  should  offer  electives  in  this  grade.  Individual 
schools  may  choose  one  elective  in  the  twelfth  grade  when  Physics  or  Chemistry 
has  been  taken  in  the  eleventh.  It  was  further  understood  that  the  schools  within 
the  same  college  district  should  adopt  a  uniform  course. 


246 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


COLLEGE  COURSE 


Subjects  Required 

Semester  hours 

Years 

Bible . 

.  12  to  16 

2 

English . 

.  8  to  io 

l 

History . 

.  6  to  8 

i 

Science . 

.  6  to  8 

i 

Language . 

.  12  to  16 

2 

Philosophy . 

.  6 

I 

Total . 

8 

Subjects  Elective  * 

Bible 

Education 

English 

Language 

Science 

Mathematics 

History 

Eligible  to  College  Credits  + 

Normal. —  Seven  years  (53  to  56  semester  hours),  excluding  Man¬ 
ual  Arts.  See  page  247,  Normal  Course. 

Music. —  Two  years  (12  to  16  semester  hours)  on  complete  Con¬ 
servatory  Course;  1  year  (6  to  8  semester  hours)  on  three-year  Con¬ 
servatory  Course. 

Oratory. —  Not  more  than  1  year  (6  to  8  semester  hours). 

Art. —  Not  more  than  one  year  (6  to  8  semester  hours  based  upon 
360  sixty-minute  hours  of  work). 

Commerce. —  One  general  elective  to  be  chosen  from  the  following 
subjects:  Accounting  2,  one  year  (6  to  8  semester  hours);  Geography 
of  Commerce,  History  of  Commerce,  Economics,  Commercial  Law, 
one-half  year  (3  to  4  semester  hours)  each. 

Voted ,  To  adopt  the  semester  plan  in  our  colleges  and  academies. 

Voted ,  To  adopt  the  grouping  plan  in  our  College  Course. 


*  Nute. —  From  the  list  of  subjects  required  it  will  be  seen  that  while  a  cer¬ 
tain  minimum  of  semester  hours  may  be  taken  in  the  various  subjects,  yet  this 
minimum  may  not  be  taken  in  all  the  subjects,  for  this  would  not  reach  the  mini¬ 
mum  total  of  60  semester  hours  of  specified  subjects  required  for  graduation. 
Classes  may  be  arranged  for  any  number  of  times  a  week  from  one  to  five  in 
either  required  or  elective  subjects,  provided  the  total  number  of  semester  hours 
taken  reaches  the  minimum  of  120  semester  hours  required  for  graduation.  A 
semester  hour  represents  the  pursual  of  one  study  one  hour  a  week  for  one 
semester. 

f  Note. — In  their  elective  work  the  students  are  required  to  take  not  less  than 
four  years  (24  to  32  semester  hours)  in  the  one  department  in  which  they  major, 
and  not  less  than  three  years  (18  to  24  semester  hours)  in  the  department  in  which 
they  minor. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


247 


MINISTERIAL  COLLEGE  COURSE  * 


Subjects  Required  Semester  hours  Years 

Bible . 1 8  to  24  3 

History . 12  to  16  2 

Church  History .  6  to  8  1 

English .  6  to  8  1 

Pastoral  Training  and  Public  Speaking  6  to  8  1 

Philosophy .  6  to  8  1 

N.  T.  Greek . 12  to  16  2 


Total . 82  to  88  11 

Subjects  Elective  Semester  hours  Years 

Science .  6  to  8  1 

Hebrew . 12  to  16  2 

History .  6  to  8  1 

English .  6  to  8  1 

Bible .  6  to  8  1 

Pastoral  Training  and  Public  Speaking  6  to  8  1 

Pedagogy .  3  to  4  y 

Music .  6  to  8  1 


Total  electives  offered . 8 y2 


Voted,  That  colleges  may  offer  a  fourteen-grade  Ministerial  Course 
within  the  limits  of  the  Ministerial  College  Course. 

Voted,  That  the  Division  Department  appoint  a  committee  to  give? 
further  study  to  the  field  work  connected  with  the  Ministerial  and  Bible 
Workers’  Courses,  and  report  later  to  the  Department. 

NORMAL  COURSE  t 

Subjects  Required  Semester  hours  Years 


Education . 

. 12 

to 

16 

2 

Teaching  and  Methods . 

. 12 

to 

16 

2 

Manual  Arts . 

.  6 

to 

8 

I 

Bible . 

.  6 

to 

8 

I 

Total . 

. 45 

to 

48 

6 

Subjects  Elective 

Normal .  3  years 

•  Note. —  Out  of  a  total  of  nineteen  and  one-half  years  offered,  sixteen  are  re¬ 
quired  for  graduation,  eleven  of  which  are  required  subjects  and  five  elective.  In 
terms  of  semester  hours  this  means  that  82  to  88  semester  hours  are  required,  and 
that  sufficient  additional  hours  from  the  electives  must  be  taken  to  make  a  mini¬ 
mum  tqtal  of  120  semester  hours  required  for  graduation. 

t  Note. —  A  minimum  total  of  45  semester  hours  of  specified  subjects  is  re¬ 
quired.  A  sufficient  amount  of  elective  work  must  be  taken  to  raise  this  number 
to  the  minimum  total  of  68  Bemester  hours  required  for  graduation. 


248 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Voted ,  That  college  credit  be  not  granted  for  the  full  seven  normal 
years  (53  to  56  semester  hours)  required  in  the  Normal  Course  until 
our  normal  departments  are  fully  standardized  and  approved  by  the 
Division  Department. 

Voted,  To  leave  to  the  Division  Department  the  naming  of  a  di¬ 
ploma  or  certificate  for  eleven  grades  academic  and  one  normal. 


COMBINED  BUSINESS  AND  SHORTHAND  COURSE 


{Prerequisite:  Twelve  Grades.) 


First  Year 

Semester  hours  Years 


Bookkeeping  I .  6  to  8  1 

Shorthand  I .  6  to  8  1 

Com.  Arith.  and  Rapid  Calculation .  3  to  4  p2 

Business  Spelling  and  English .  }  to  4  ph 

History  of  Commerce  or  Economics .  3  to  4  pi 

Geography  of  Commerce .  3  to  4  pi 

Penmanship . • .  Drill 

Typewriting .  Drill 

Second  Year 


Semester  hours 

Bible .  6  to  8 

Bookkeeping  II .  6  to  8 

Shorthand  II .  6  to  8 

Commercial  Law . .  ..  3  to  4 

Com.  Corresp.  and  Salesmanship .  3  to  4 

Penmanship . 

Typewriting . 


Years 

1 

I 

I 

\Z 


Drill 

Drill 


SHORTHAND  COURSE 

{Prerequisite:  Twelve  grades  with  Shorthand  I  in  the 
twelfth  grade  and  Typewriting  as  the  drill.) 

Semester  hours  Years 

Shorthand  II .  6  to  8  1 

Elective .  6  to  8  1 

Commercial  Law .  3  to  4  pi 

Geography  of  Commerce .  3  to  4  pi 

Business  Spelling  and  English .  3  to  4  pi 

Com.  Corresp.  and  Spelling .  3  to  4  pi 

Penmanship .  Drill 

Typewriting . , . .  Drill 


249 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 

**•  -nf~  ar 

BUSINESS  COURSE 


(Prerequisite:  Twelve  grades  with  Bookkeeping  in  the 


twelfth  grade  and  Penmanship 

as  the  drill.)  . 

Semester  hours 

Years 

Bookkeeping  II . 

....  6  to 

8 

1 

Geography  of  Commerce . 

....  3  to 

4 

K 

Hist,  of  Commerce  or  Economics. .  . 

....  3  to 

4 

K 

Commercial  Law . 

....  3  to 

4 

Com.  Arith.  and  Rapid  Calculation. 

.  3  to 

4 

K 

Business  Spelling  and  English . 

....  3  to 

4 

K 

Com.  Corresp.  and  Salesmanship.  .  . 

....  3  to 

4 

K 

Penmanship . 

Drill 

Typewriting . 

Drill 

Voted ,  That  high -school  graduates  in  taking  the  combined  Short¬ 
hand  and  Business  Course  or  the  separate  Business  and  Shorthand 
Courses,  be  required  to  have  two  years  (12  to  16  semester  hours)  of 
Bible. 

Voted,  That  one  general  elective  in  commerce  be  allowed  in  the 
College  Course,  the  same  to  be  chosen  from  the  following  subjects: 
Accounting  2,  one  year  (6  to  8  semester  hours):  Geography  of  Com¬ 
merce,  History  of  Commerce,  Economics,  Commercial  Law,  one- half 
year  (3  to  4  semester  hours)  each. 

Voted,  That  the  Division  Department  appoint  a  committee  to 
give  futher  study  to  the  field  work  connected  with  Ministerial 
and  Bible  Workers’  Courses,  and  report  later  to  the  Department. 


NOTE 

The  following  part  of  this  report  con¬ 
tains  matter  pertaining  distinctively  to 
the  Missionary  Volunteer  work.  The 
addresses  of  welcome  and  response,  the 
daily  studies  by  Elder  Evans,  and  the 
paper  and  discussion  on  sex  education, 
were  given  in  joint  sessions.  As  the 
matter  could  not  well  be  divided,  it  is 
given  under  the  first,  or  Educational, 
part  of  this  report,  and  can  easily  be 
found  from  the  index.  The  closing  meet¬ 
ing  was  also  a  joint  session,  the  record 
of  which  appears  at  the  end  of  the  Mis¬ 
sionary  Volunteer  proceedings. 


250 


MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 
DEPARTMENT 


PROGRESS  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  MISSION¬ 
ARY  VOLUNTEER  MOVEMENT 

M.  E.  KERN 

Organization  and  Progress 

The  story  of  our  young  people’s  work,  from  the  first  Testimonies 
received  in  regard  to  it,  in  1892  and  1893,  down  to  the  present,  is 
doubtless  in  a  general  way  familiar  to  all  here  present.  This  brief 
history  is  preserved  for  us  in  Missionary  Volunteer  Series  No.  3, 
by  Mrs.  L.  Flora  Plummer  and  Matilda  Erickson.  It  is  my  purpose 
to  speak  briefly  of  the  progress  of  the  work  since  our  last  and  only 
general  Young  People’s  Convention,  held  in  1907,  when  the  Mission¬ 
ary  Volunteer  Department  of  the  General  Conference  was  organized. 

The  decision  to  organize  the  young  people’s  work  as  a  separate 
department  of  the  General  Conference  was  made  at  the  Gland,  Swit¬ 
zerland,  meeting  of  the  General  Conference  Committee  in  May,  1907. 
The  following  extracts  from  the  report  of  the  minutes  of  that  meeting 
are  significant:  — 

"Still  the  council  faces  day  by  day,  in  its  study  of  the  fields, 
the  divine  call  to  bring  every  resource  into  service  for  the  closing 
work.  The  following  recommendations  were  passed :  — 

"  Whereas,  There  are  in  our  ranks  many  thousands  of  young  people 
for  whom  the  most  earnest  and  vigorous  efforts  should  be  put  forth  to 
fully  instruct  them  in  the  gospel  of  our  Lord,  and  lead  them  to  give 
themselves  to  the  work  of  the  third  angel’s  message;  and, — 

“  Whereas,  The  special  blessing  of  God  has  attended  the  efforts 
among  our  young  people  put  forth  under  the  fostering  care  of  the 
Sabbath  School  Department,  until  it  has  grown  to  such  an  extent 
that  it  is  difficult  for  this  department  to  give  this  work  the  attention 
and  help  which  it  needs;  therefore, — 

" Resolved ,  That,  in  order  that  this  work  may  be  properly  devel¬ 
oped,  and  thus  an  army  of  workers  be  properly  trained  for  service,  a 
special  department,  with  the  necessary  officers,  be  created,  the  same 
to  be  known* as  the  Young  People’s  Department  of  the  General  Con¬ 
ference. 


251 


252 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


“In  the  discussion  of  the  action  by  representatives  present,  it 
was  testified  that  the  youth  of  the  denomination  in  all  the  world  are 
being  moved  by  one  common  impulse  to  offer  themselves  for  service.” 

In  July  of  the  same  year  came  the  joint  Sabbath  School  and 
Young  People’s  Convention,  at  which  the  Department  was  launched 
and  the  plans  that  should  guide  its  work  were  laid.  One  in  writing 
of  this  convention  has  said,  truly  I  believe,  that  “in  purpose,  char¬ 
acter,  and  far-reaching  results  this  convention  ranks  as  a  very  impor¬ 
tant  meeting  in  the  history  of  this  cause;”  and  further  that  “as  we 
caught  a  view  of  the  accumulative  power  and  -self-propagating  force 
of  our  army  of  youth,  organized  and  trained  for  service,  it  seemed 
that  we  had  suddenly  come  into  possession  of  a  gigantic  dynamo 
of  energy  and  spiritual  power,  with  which  to  finish  the  work  of  the 
Lord  in  this  generation.” 

At  that  meeting  the  movement  was  given  a  definite  name,  a  name 
that  has  already  meant  much  and  will  doubtless  mean  more  and  more 
to  our  young  people  and  to  the  denomination.  The  membership  was 
limited  to  “those  who  are  members  of  the  Seventh-day  Adventist 
Church,  and  are  willing  to  engage  in  active  service  for  Christ.”  The 
Standard  of  Attainment  was  set  up,  and  the  Reading  Courses  were 
arranged  for.  These  and  other  educational  plans  have  proved  to  be 
a  great  factor  in  the  lives  of  our  youth,  by  inspiring  them  with  a 
desire  for  self-improvement,  and  in  fixing  their  attention  on  the 
need  of  preparation  for  service.  Also  definite  plans  were  laid  for  va¬ 
rious  lines  of  organized  missionary  effort. 

At  the  next  General  Conference  following  the  Mount  Vernon  con¬ 
vention,  held  in  1909,  a  recommendation  was  passed  heartily  approv¬ 
ing  of  the  steps  taken  by  the  committee  in  the  organizing  of  the 
Department.  Among  other  resolutions  passed  by  this  conference 
regarding  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work,  the  following  emphasized 
what  was  and  is  considered  the  most  fundamental:  — 

“2.  Resolved ,  (a)  That  we  emphasize  a  change  of  heart  and  the 
reception  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  fundamental  in  all  our  work  for  the 
youth;  and, — 

“(b)  That  to  this  end  more  earnest  evangelistic  effort  be  carried 
forward  in  their  behalf. 

“3.  Resolved ,  That  in  planning  work  for  our  young  people,  we  em¬ 
phasize  personal  work  as  fundamental,  and  the  basis  of  all  lines  of 
Christian  work;  and  that,  to  this  end,  we  encourage  the  formation 
of  small  bands  for  prayer  and  definite  effort.” 

Thus  at  the  very  outset,  the  absolute  importance  of  evangelistic 
efforts  for,  and  personal  evangelism  by,  our  young  people  was  given 
first  place.  We  have  tried  to  follow  this  lead,  and  we  need  to  be 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


25:; 


brought  back  to  it  again  and  again.  I  wish  to  repeat  what  I  have 
often  said,  that  our  Missionary  Volunteer  secretaries  need  to  be  evan¬ 
gelists  as  well  as  educators  and  organizers. 

At  the  1909  conference  our  attention  was  specially  directed  by 
resolution  to  the  great  opportunity  which  our  camp  meetings  afford 
for  the  work  of  this  Department.  It  was  recommended:  — 

“That  diligent  effort  be  made  at  these  meetings  for  the  salvation 
of  our  children  and  youth,  and  for  their  development  as  Christian 
workers;  and  we  urge  those  who  have  this  work  in  charge, — 

“  (a)  To  make  wise  plans  for  the  meetings  and  attendance. 

“(b)  To  organize  the  Christian  young  people  into  bands  for 
prayer  and  personal  work. 

“(c)  To  follow  up  the  work  diligently,  so  that  the  results  may 
be  permanent.” 

We  have  endeavored  to  amplify  and  carry  out  this  instruction, 
and  I  believe  that  all  who  have  observed  our  camp  meeting  work 
for  young  people  during  the  last  eight  years  will  testify  to  a  great 
change  for  the  better,  in  our  preparation  for  the  work,  the  organ¬ 
ized  missionary  work  for  and  by  the  young  people  on  the  ground, 
and  the  follow-up  work  after  the  meetings  have  closed.  The  lay¬ 
ing  of  definite  responsibility  on  a  permanent  officer  of  the  conference 
has  resulted  in  greatly  increased  efficiency. 

Our  Missionary  Volunteer  work  has  naturally  fallen  into  three 
departments:  (1)  Devotional,  (2)  Educational,  and  (3)  Organized 
Missionary  Effort. 

The  Devotional  Features 

Prominent  among  these  is  the  Morning  Watch.  We  believe 
that  the  faithful  observance  of  the  Morning  Watch  will  do  more  than 
any  other  one  thing  to  establish  unbroken  communion  with  heaven, 
which  is  the  secret  of  right  living  and  successful  soul  winning.  That 
the  little  Morning  Watch  Calendar  has  met  with  a  hearty  welcome 
is  shown  by  the  following  record  of  its  distribution  year  by  year:  — 

In  1908,  6,000;  1909,  14,500;  1910,  17,500;  1911,  22,000;  1912, 
25,000;  1913,  33-000;  1914,  55,000. 

Besides  this  record  of  the  English  edition,  the  Morning  Watch 
Calendar  has  been  published  in  the  German,  Spanish,  Japanese, 
Chinese,  Korean,  Danish-Norwegian,  Swedish,  and  Finnish  languages. 
It  is  a  blessed  thought  that  morning  by  morning  an  ever-enlarging 
circle  of  young  people,  and  older  ones  too,  from  lands  all  round  the 
world,  are  pressing  their  petitions  up  to  the  same  loving  Father  for 
victory  over  temptation  and  power  for  Christian  service. 


COMPARATIVE  SUMMARY  OF  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER  WORK 


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COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


255 


Educational  Features 

Prominent  among  the  educational  features  is  the  Standard  of 
Attainment.  Something  of  the  success  of  this  plan  will  be  seen  by  the 
record  of  the  number  of  certificates  granted  year  by  year:  — 

In  1908,  72;  1909,  60;  1910,  27;  1911,  58;  1912,  86;  1913,  134; 
1914,  676. 

We  launched  so  many  plans  at  Mount  Vernon  that  it  seemed  im¬ 
possible  to  do  much  with  the  Standard  of  Attainment  at  first,  but 
the  wisdom  of  the  plan  has  been  proved  by  the  gradual  and  steady 
growth  and  by  the  results  already  attained.  What  can  be  more 
important  than  that  all  our  young  people  in  the  churches  where 
we  find  them  shall  be  stimulated  to  study  the  fundamental  points 
of  our  faith  and  the  history  of  the  advent  movement?  What  a 
victory  we  have  gained  in  having  several  hundred  of  our  young  people 
meeting  in  Standard  of  Attainment  bands,  earnestly  studying  these 
fundamentals,  rather  than  spending  their  time  in  fruitless  and  harm¬ 
ful  pleasures!  This  plan  has  prepared  many  for  active  missionary 
efforts  where  they  are,  and  stimulated  a  desire  to  go  to  school  for 
further  preparation. 

The  Reading  Courses  have  been  popular  from  the  beginning, 
and  thousands  of  our  young  people  have  read  the  books  suggested 
and  have  fixed  the  habit  of  reading  good  books.  There  are  already 
young  people  in  the  foreign  field  who  attribute  their  choice  of  work 
to  our  Missionary  Volunteer  Reading  Courses. 

The  following  shows  the  number  who  have  obtained  certificates 
in  the  North  American  Division  each  year:  — 

In  1908,  55;  1909,  99;  1910,  T77;  1911,  242;  1912,  530;  1913,  675; 
1914,  1,913. 

Besides,  we  have  Reading  Courses  in  German,  Japanese,  Chinese, 
Danish-Norwegian,  Swedish,  and  Spanish. 

Organized  Missionary  Effort 

That  our  young  people  have  been  greatly  stimulated  in  missionary 
effort  we  know.  While  it  is  impossible  (and  perhaps  always  will  be) 
to  get  full  reports,  the  table  on  the  opposite  page  gives  something 
of  an  idea  along  this  line. 

At  the  time  of  the  last  General  Conference,  Miss  Erickson  con¬ 
ceived  the  idea  of  a  Missionary  Volunteer  goal.  Accordingly  one 
was  set  for  1914.  Doubtless,  except  for  the  break  in  the  work  caused 
by  Miss  Erickson’s  failing  health  and  the  consequent  changes,  the 
record  would  be  better  than  it  is;  but  God  blessed  our  efforts,  as  is 
shown  by  the  summary  on  page  256:  — 


256 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


The  1914  Goal 


AIM  RESULTS 

Young  people  converted .  1,500  L760 

Standard  of  Attainment  certificates .  500  677 

Reading  Course  certificates  .  1,50°  1,913 

Money  for  missions  .  $25,000  $19,289.77 


Each  point  you  see  was  passed  except  the  financial  goal,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  at  all  that  our  young  people  gave  more  than  $25,000 
to  missions  last  year,  but  some  confusion  in  the  matter  of  reports 
prevented  a  proper  showing. 

At  the  last  General  Conference  Elder  Daniells  said:  “The  Lord 
is  blessing  this  Department.  Every  year  I  see  wonderful  progress 
made.  I  feel  grateful  for  the  deep  interest  manifested  in  it.  I  am  so 
glad  to  see  the  helping  hand  the  greater  part  of  our  denomination 
is  giving  the  youth  through  it. 

“As  we  enter  upon  the  next  quadrennial  period,  I  expect  to  see 
this  Department  gaining  great  victories  and  winning  most  impor¬ 
tant  conquests.  It  has  been  only  six  years  since  we  decided  to  organize 
this  Department.  We  just  had  a  good  start  four  years  ago.  And 
what  hath  God  not  wrought  for  our  young  people? 

“I  go  about  to  the  church  schools  and  colleges,  and  to  camp 
meetings.  I  am  coming  in  closest  touch  with  this  great  mass  of  people, 
and  I  know  that  there  is  some  mighty  influence  down  underneath 
lifting  up.  The  work  is  being  done,  and  I  believe  that  we  are  nearing 
the  point  when  our  young  people,  as  a  rule,  will  be  reached  by  the 
love  of  Christ,  and  will  be  a  converted  body  throughout  our  ranks. 
That  is  the  aim  that  is  possible,  and  we  must  never  stop  until  it  is 
realized.  ” 

At  the  close  of  this  General  Conference,  the  secretary  of  the  North 
American  Division  Missionary  Volunteer  Department  wrote:  — 

“Today  we  truly  can  say  that  the  pillar  of  cloud  has  lifted,  and 
that  workers  everywhere  are  pressing  forward  to  the  complete  organ¬ 
ization  of  the  movement  which  has  for  its  object  the  salvation  of 
every  child  and  young  person  in  the  denomination.” 

These  words  are  true.  As  another  worker  said,  “This  young 
people’s  work  is  going  around  the  world  carrying  blessings  in  its 
train.  ” 

The  following  extracts  from  recent  foreign  letters  give  a  little 
idea  of  the  Missionary  Volunteer  activity  in  our  foreign  fields:  — 

Elder  A.  F.  Prieger,  of  Haiti,  writes:  — 

“As  for  the  Young  People’s  Society,  I  will  say  it  is  doing  wonders 
in  Haiti;  for  while  our  workers  could  not  work  in  the  interior  for  nine 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


257 


months,  the  lay  members  brought  fifty-four  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  and  they  are  waiting  for  baptism,  and  that  during  nine  months 
of  revolution.” 

Elder  P.  Hennig  writes  from  South  America:  — 

“  It  was  my  privilege  to  work  for  the  young  people’s  and  the  Home 
Missionary  Departments  during  my  recent  trip.  I  gained  sixty-four 
young  people  to  sign  the  membership  card.  I  had  aimed  to  get  every 
young  man  and  woman  with  whom  I  came  in  contact.  Only  two 
escaped,  one  was  too  young  and  the  other  could  not  see  how  he  could 
find  time  to  study,  being  engaged  in  business  which  occupied  all 
his  time.  I  found  the  young  people  everywhere  very  enthusiastic. 
They  do  the  greater  part  of  the  missionary  work,  and  seemed  to  be 
waiting  to  be  organized  for  more  efficient  work. 

“Our  Bible  Doctrine  Correspondence  Course  now  has  230  mem¬ 
bers.  This  number  includes  both  Portuguese  and  Germans.  About 
seventy  are  Brazilian  young  people.  The  number  would  very  likely 
be  larger,  but  many  are  illiterates.” 

Miss  E.  M.  James  writes  from  Australia,  February,  1915:  — 

“During  the  last  six  months  of  1914  ninety-four  young  people 
have  been  baptized  in  New  South  Wales.  It  is  good  to  see  so  many 
giving  their  young  lives  to  the  Lord.  There  are  many  others  taking 
studies,  preparatory  to  being  baptized.” 

D.  Isaak  writes  from  Russia,  April,  1914:  — 

“As  we  have  not  had  half  the  workers  we  ought  to  have,  we  have  a 
great  help  in  our  brethren,  and  especially  in  the  young  people  who  have 
not  even  been  to  any  of  our  schools,  yet  will  hold  general  meetings 
where  a  worker  is  not  present.  Yes,  and  among  the  Esthonians 
even  young  sisters  hold  the  meetings  in  a  rented  hall  full  of  people, 
old  and  young.  We  are  also  thankful  for  their  zeal  in  spreading  our 
literature  and  for  their  accuracy  in  paying  tithe  and  offerings.  Here 
also  is  the  land  of  the  language.  A  good  many  speak  three  to  four 
languages,  even  children  four  and  five  years  old.  A  brother  in  Reval 
speaks  ten  languages.” 

K.  H.  Wood  writes  from  China,.  March,  1915:  — 

“  I  am  in  touch  with  all  our  young  people  in  the  East  China  Mission 
field,  and  also  with  many  others  who  have  attended  our  training 
school  here,  but  who  are  now  in  other  parts  of  China  where  the  work 
has  not  yet  been  organized.  My  list  shows  a  total  of  nearly  four  hun¬ 
dred  members  in  these  societies.  I  am  in  personal  communication 
with  all  of  these,  and  believe  that  there  is  much  to  indicate  that  they 
are  all  interested  in  the  Missionary  Volunteer  movement,  and  in 
following  the  work  outlined  by  the  Department.” 

17 


258 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Problems 

What  are  the  problems  that  now  confront  us?  The  fundamental 
problems  are  few  but  very  important. 

Evangelistic. —  The  great  problem,  of  course,  is  how  to  hold  our 
young  people.  This  involves  a  thorough  study  of  the  nature  of  the 
child  and  the  adolescent,  and  how  to  adapt  our  efforts  to  their  needs. 
This  problem  runs  all  through  our  work,  and  it  is  our  hope  that  all 
of  us  may,  at  this  Council,  get  new  visions  of  the  importance  of 
thorough  evangelistic  effort  and  how  to  do  it. 

The  Junior  Work. — -At  first  not  much  attention  could  be  given  to 
the  Junior  work.  But  it  is  being  organized  in  our  larger  churches 
and  church  schools.  More  attention  must  be  given  to  it  and  literature 
prepared  to  help  the  workers;  for  “what  is  put  into  the  first  of  life 
is  put  into  all  of  life.” 

Social  Problems. — Young  people  are  essentially  social,  and  no 
restraining  efforts  by  field  workers  or  schools  can  crush  out  that 
God-given  instinct;  and  any  effort  in  their  behalf  which  does  not 
recognize  and  deal  with  this  phase  of  the  'ife  of  young  people,  cannot 
succeed. 

Preparation  of  Literature. — There  is  great  need  of  more  suitable 
literature  for  the  promotion  of  this  work.  For  years  we  have  planned 
to  publish  a  Missiona  y  Volunteer  Manual.  Our  people  are  awak¬ 
ening  to  the  great  importance  of  this  work,  and  there  is  need  of  some 
authoritative  standard  as  a  guide  in  the  work.  Something,  of  course, 
has  been  done  from  the  first  by  the  publication  of  articles  and  leaflets, 
but  it  seems  to  me  we  have  now  had  enough  experience  in  this  work, 
so  that  at  the  close  of  this  Council  we  should  be  able  to  put  out  a 
Missionary  Volunteer  Manual.  There  is  also  great  need  of  literature 
to  promote  the  Junior  work. 

Relation  to  the  Missionary  Department. — Whiting  of  the  Mount 
Vernon  convention  in  1907,  one  said:  — 

“As  we  sense  the  power  of  our  army  of  Christian  youth,  ready 
to  move  at  a  word;  as  we  catch  visions  of  their  strength  and  might 
when  imbued  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  we  know  of  a  certainty  that  through 
them  this  entire  people  will  be  stirred  to  greater  zeal  and  sacrifice.” 

We  know  that  the  activity  of  the  young  people  has  in  many  cases 
accomplished  this  very  result.  We  now-  have  the  Home  Missionary 
Department  of  the  General  and  North  American  Division  Conferences, 
and  great  activity  is  manifested.  This  awakening  of  the  whole 
church  membership  brings  into  operation  more  than  before  the  plans 
laid  at  Mount  Vernon  for  the  harmonious  working  of  old  and  young 
in  the  church.  The  details  of  these  plans  need  to  be  worked  out  and 
explained.  This  Convention  should  consider  this  question. 


COUNCIL  PKOCEEDINGS 


259 


Society  Lessons. — This  is  a  very  important  question,  and  the  de¬ 
partment  officers  want  all  the  counsel  and  help  that  can  be  received 
from  this  meeting.  We  have  studied  foreign  missions,  home  missions, 
Missionary  Volunteer  methods,  the  way  to  Christ,  Bible  doctrines, 
and  other  special  themes.  What  to  arrange  for  our  Missionary  Vol¬ 
unteer  lesson  studies,  and  how  to  prepare  these  studies,  is  something 
of  a  problem.  The  question  of  uniformity  of  lessons  is  an  impor¬ 
tant  one. 

It  seems  to  me  that  one  of  the  strongest  factors  in  the  promotion 
of  this  work  in  the  field  is  our  schools.  The  students  who  go  out  from 
these  schools  are  looked  to  as  leaders  in  church  work,  and  naturally 
they  do  in  the  churches  what  they  have  seen  done  in  the  schools. 
How  important,  then,  that  our  schools  should  line  up  strongly  with 
our  Missionary  Volunteer  Department!  On  this  general  proposition, 
I  think  all  are  agreed.  It  has  seemed  to  some  of  us  that  to  this  end 
the  schools  ought  to  follow  the  regular  Missionary  Volunteer  programs, 
at  least  in  the  main.  Whether  this  can  be  made  a  success  or  not  is  a 
question  for  our  consideration  here.  The  importance  of  the  Mis¬ 
sionary  Volunteer  work  in  our  schools  is  mentioned  in  the  following 
recommendation  passed  at  the  last  General  Conference:  — 

“  We  recommend,  That  the  young  people  in  our  training  schools 
and  academies  organize  and  conduct  Missionary  Volunteer  Societies 
in  harmony  with  the  general  plans  adopted  by  the  Department,  and 
that  they  counsel  with  the  union  and  local  conference  Missionary 
Volunteer  secretaries  in  arranging  the  most  satisfactory  time  for  the 
election  of  officers  and  term  of  office.” 

The  last  fall  council  of  the  General  and  North  American  Division 
Conferences  went  farther,  in  urging  our  schools  to  adopt  the  Mis¬ 
sionary  Volunteer  lessons.  We  have  been  endeavoring  to  bring 
this  about  this  year. 

Leadership. — But  the  greatest  problem  is  the  question  of  leader¬ 
ship.  The  General  Conference  in  1909  passed  the  following:  — 

u  Resolved,  That  our  conferences  make  special  efforts  to  secure  the 
very  best  talent  for  this  important  work,  and  that  the  churches  be 
encouraged  to  use  great  care  in  the  selection  of  local  leaders.” 

The  last  General  Conference  passed  the  following:  — 

Resolved,  (a)  That  our  conference  officers  and  school  faculties 
encourage  promising  young  people  to  prepare  for  this  line  of  the 
Lord’s  work. 

“(b)  That  for  increasing  the  efficiency  of  conference  Missionary 
Volunteer  secretaries  and  the  preparation  of  those  who  contemplate 
entering  the  work,  we  favor  some  form  of  special  training,  such  as 
Missionary  Volunteer  secretaries’  institutes.  ,  .  , 


260 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


“  (d)  That  all  conferences  make  a  special  effort  to  build  up  this 
department  of  their  work  by  a  careful  selection  of  secretaries,  in  coun¬ 
sel  with  the  Union  and  General  Conference  Missionary  Volunteer 
Departments,  and  by  having  secretaries  who  have  been  reasonably 
successful  remain  in  office  long  enough  to  enable  them  to  build  up 
a  strong  work. 

“  2 .  We  recommend ,  (a)  That  those  in  charge  of  our  summer  schools 
be  asked  to  arrange  for  general  instruction  in  regard  to  Missionary 
Volunteer  work  to  be  given  in  connection  with  the  summer-school 
training,  so  that  as  the  church-school  teachers  take  up  their  work, 
they  may  be  fitted  to  act  as  leaders  along  Missionary  Volunteer  lines. 

“(b)  That  our  academies  and  colleges  organize  Missionary  Vol¬ 
unteer  bands  to  study  systematically  and  thoroughly  the  young 
people’s  work  in  our  denomination;  and  to  study  in  a  general  way 
the  organization  of  young  people’s  work  in  other  evangelical  churches.  ” 

And  still  the  procession  of  secretaries  passes  along.  The  Year  Book 
is  out  of  date  before  it  is  off  the  press.  This  is  partly  due  to  the  lack 
of  well -qualified  leaders,  perhaps;  but  I  think  the  failure  is  largely  due 
to  the  fact  that  many  conferences  do  not  recognize  the  importance 
of  continuity  in  this  work.  It  is  true,  we  have  few  well-trained 
secretaries.  This  work  is  new,  and  we  must  train  them  in  the  field. 
How  important,  then,  that  one  who  gives  ordinary  promise  of  suc¬ 
cess  should  be  retained  in  the  office  long  enough  to  get  a  training  and 
to  make  a  success  of  the  work! 

It  seems  to  me  that  this  question  of  leadership  is  one  of  the  great¬ 
est  questions  confronting  us  today  in  all  departments,  and  espe¬ 
cially  in  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Department.  For  the  days  to 
come,  and  in  the  days  that  are  now,  we  need  leaders  who  know  what 
ought  to  be  done.  Why  is  it  that  with  the  same  facilities,  the  same 
people,  and  the  same  motives,  one  enterprise  fails  and  another  succeeds? 
In  the  difference  in  leadership  we  find  the  answer. 

The  Directoire  in  France  in  1796  decided  to  move  against  Aus¬ 
tria.  Jordan,  with  a  large  and  finely  equipped  army,  was  sent  di¬ 
rectly  into  the  territory;  while  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  because  of  the 
jealousy  felt  against  the  young  Corsican,  was  sent  with  a  small  and 
poorly  equipped  army  across  the  Alps.  The  results  are  known  to 
every  student  of  history.  A  leader  had  arisen  in  France,  destined 
to  change  the  map  of  Europe. 

We  have  been  told  that  “it  is  the  nicest  work  ever  assumed  by  men 
and  women  to  deal  with  youthful  minds.”  We  are  wont  to  apply 
this  to  the  work  of  the  teachers  in  our  schools;  but  if  it  is  a  nice  work 
to  train  and  develop  youthful  minds  in  the  school,  surrounded  by 
school  atmosphere,  with  the  young  people  almost  entirely  under  the 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


261 


guidance  of  a  strong  school  faculty,  how  much  more  delicate  a  work 
is  it  for  a  field  secretary  to  exercise  a  strong  influence  upon  young 
people  in  the  unstable  period  of  youth,  surrounded  by  worldly  in¬ 
fluences,  and  lead  them  to  Christ  and  into  a  piace  in  our  work? 

And  I  want  to  tell  you,  my  dear  brethren  and  sisters,  that  it  is 
in  the  churches,  before  our  schools  have  a  chance  to  influence  the 
young  people,  that  we  lose  them.  The  other  day  I  noticed  in  the  Ex¬ 
position  a  demonstration  of  an  orange  grader.  The  oranges  came 
rolling  down  a  trough,  which  gradually  widened  at  the  bottom,  the 
small  ones  dropping  through  into  a  box,  the  next  larger  into  the  next 
box,  and  so  on.  How  many  thousands  of  our  young  people  have 
dropped  out  of  sight  before  the  school  had  any  chance  to  influence 
them ! 

A  few  years  ago  I  estimated  that  not  one  young  person  in  five  in 
the  Central  Union  Conference  came  under  the  influence  of  any  of  our 
schools.  I  believe  the  condition  is  better  now;  but  how  many  thou¬ 
sands  of  our  young  people  have  had  little  chance  of  being  influenced 
for  God  and  eternity! 

It  is  the  work  of  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Department  to  lay 
hold  of  these  young  people  where  they  are,  fix  their  attention  upon  the 
things  of  God,  and  direct  their  minds  to  a  preparation  for  the  Lord’s 
work.  For  this  work  we  need  the  strongest  young  men  our  colleges 
can  give  us, —  educated  and  refined  young  men,  evangelists,  with 
the  ability  to  organize  and  educate. 

There  are  few  of  our  people  who  even  realize  how  many  young 
people  we  have  in  our  conferences.  A  young  people’s  secretary  re¬ 
cently  in  taking  up  her  work  was  told  that  there  were  300  young  people 
in  the  conference.  She  has  already  found  500,  and  has  not  made  the 
rounds  as  yet.  There  is  a  tremendous  work  before  us  in  the  field 
end  of  our  young  people’s  work,  and  we  need  the  strongest  and  best 
and  most  tactful  workers  that  can  be  found. 

In  arranging  this  Convention,  we  talked  some  of  a  slogan  or 
keynote,  although  I  think  none  was  settled  upon.  It  seems  to  me 
the  keynote  of  this  Council  should  be  “Consecration  and  Efficiency.” 
We  have  been  told  in  the  spirit  of  prophecy  that  “the  time  demands 
greater  efficiency  and  deeper  consecration.  ”  Let  consecration  and 
efficiency  be  the  key-words  of  this  Council.  Those  initial  letters 
may  stand  also  for  Christian  education. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  ADOLESCENT  LIFE  AND 
METHODS  OF  WINNING  YOUNG  PEOPLE 


C.  L.  BENSON 

With  such  an  army  as  our  thousands  of  young  people,  rightly 
trained,  might  furnish,  how  soon  the  message  of  a  crucified,  risen, 
and  soon-coming  Saviour  might  be  heralded  to  every  part  of  the 
world ! 

God’s  people  of  old  were  instructed  to  “train  up  a  child  in  the 
way  he  should  go.”  At  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  Christ 
admonished  the  founders  of  the  Christian  church,  “Feed  my  lambs.” 
Today,  observation  and  experience  confirm  the  wisdom  of  this  divine 
teaching. 

In  childhood  and  youth  the  heart  is  like  wax  to  receive  impressions, 
but  like  bronze  in  its  retentiveness.  Statistics  show  the  period  of 
youth  to  be  the  harvest  time  of  souls.  The  majority  of  conversions 
occur  between  the  ages  of  twelve  and  twenty.  The  high-water  mark 
is  reached  at  sixteen.  As  these  years  pass,  the  prospects  decrease, 
and  after  twenty-two  very  few  become  Christians.  Between  seventy- 
five  and  ninety  per  cent  of  the  members  of  the  different  Protestant 
churches  in  America  were  converted  before  they  reached  their  twenty- 
third  year.  Less  than  five  per  cent  of  those  who  leave  college  un¬ 
converted  ever  become  Christians. 

If  we  admit  the  preceding  facts,  shall  we  not  recognize  the  ne¬ 
cessity  of  having  trained,  studious,  consecrated  workers  for  our  boys 
and  girls?  for  during  the  “teen  age”  the  foundations  of  a  Christian 
life  are  laid,  the  student  life  is  determined,  and  the  trend  for  useful¬ 
ness  is  established. 

What  a  privilege  to  understand  and  to  have  the  confidence  of  a 
boy  or  girl,  hungry  to  be  understood  and  appreciated!  There  he 
stands  at  the  parting  of  the  ways,  up  on  the  mountain  top  today  and 
down  in  the  valley  tomorrow.  One  day  he  desires  to  be  a  physician, 
the  next  an  electrical  engineer,  the  next  a  farmer.  One  day  he  is 
sure  every  one  understands  him,  and  everything  is  moving  along  all 
right:  the  next  day  he  is  positive  no  one  understands,  he  hasn’t  a 
friend  on  earth.  He  doesn’t  understand  himself,  and  wonders  why  he 
was  born.  During  this  storm-and-stress  period  it  is  worth  while  to 
be  intelligently  sympathetic  and  gain  his  confidence?  To  under¬ 
stand  him  is  to  win  him. 

This  is  the  physical,  mental,  and  religious  crisis  of  adolescence. 
It  is  here  that  religious  workers  have  found  iheir  greatest  challenge, 
largely  because  they  have  not  understood  the  boys  and  girls. 

262 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


263 


Mr.  John  L.  Alexander,  International  Sunday  School  superin¬ 
tendent,  says,  “Of  the  approximately  10,000,000  teen-age  boys  in  the 
field  of  the  International  Sunday  School  Association,  ninety  per  cent 
are  not  now  reached  by  the  Sunday  school.  Of  the  ten  per  cent  en¬ 
rolled,  seventy-five  per  cent  are  dropped  from  its  membership.” 
In  other  words,  “Only  twenty  to  twenty-five  out  of  every  one  hundred 
scholars  who  enter  Sunday  school,  are  saved  to  church  membership.” 
This  is  far  more  serious  than  any  failure  to  evangelize  the  outside 
unconverted.  It  should  be  vastly  easier  to  hold  those  intrusted  to 
us  from  early  childhood. 

It  is  at  the  ages  of  fourteen  to  sixteen  that  the  boys  and  girls 
leave  the  Sunday  school,  and  also  the  public  schools.  Over  fifty  per 
cent  of  the  boys  fail  to  graduate  even  from  the  eighth  grade  in  the 
grammar  school,  and  but  one  per  cent  go  to  college.  The  loss  sus¬ 
tained  by  our  denominational  schools  is  almost  as  great.  The  major¬ 
ity  of  cases  in  the  juvenile  courts  fall  in  the  same  period. 

We  have  lost  thousands  of  our  own  adolescent  young  people. 
Today  upwards  of  10,000  are  unconverted.  E>aily  the  number  grows. 
But  the  problem  remains  unsolved.  Surely  the  lives  of  our  boys  and 
girls  plead  loudly  for  the  study  and  solution  of  this  great  question. 

There  is  only  one  way  of  solving  the  adolescent  problem,  and  that 
is  by  knowing  our  boys  and  girls,  both  as  classes  and  as  individuals. 
The  adolescent  boy  from  twelve  to  eighteen  is  not  a  child,  neither  is 
he  a  man,  and  it  is  a  mistake  to  treat  him  like  one.  “He  is  a  boy, 
just  a  boy,  and  there  is  none  other  like  him.”  As  we  observe  the 
adolescent,  w*e  notice  that  the  teen  age  is  foursquare  —  physically, 
socially,  and  mentally,  as  well  as  spiritually.  They  live  seven  days 
a  week,  twrenty-four  hours  a  day,  not  merely  an  hour  or  two  on  Sab¬ 
bath.  Their  spiritual  impulses  are  received  and  find  expression  in 
the  physical,  social,  and  mental  activities  in  which  they  are  engaged 
during  the  week.  Any  work  that  is  attempted  with  our  young  people, 
which  ignores  this  fourfold  life  of  the  boys  and  girls,  cannot  be  a 
success. 

The  ideal  for  a  perfect  work  with  boys  and  girls  is  that  which  is 
gleaned  from  a  study  of  the  boyhood  of  Jesus.  He  “grew  in  wisdom” 
(mentally),  “and  in  stature”  (physically),  “and  in  favor  with  God” 
(spiritually),  “and  with  man”  (socially).  The  secret  of  Christ’s 
life  as  a  boy  lies  in  his  symmetrical  and  well-balanced  growrth.  It 
our  dear  young  people  are  to  pattern  their  lives  after  the  divine  ex¬ 
ample,  they  must  physically,  socially,  mentally,  and  religiously  find 
the  best,  and  build  it  into  their  lives,  thus  attaining  unto  the  “measure 
of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ.” 


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“The  teen  age  is  not  made  up  of  disappointed  and  disconnected 
activities,  but  it  is  a  continual  process  of  development.  The  ado¬ 
lescent  grows  by  ever- widening  circles  of  interest;  first,  the  self,  then 
the  clique  or  gang,  then  the  school  life,  then  the  city,  then  the  nation, 
and  so  on,  out  to  humanity.” 

For  convenience,  let  us  divide  adolescence  into  (i)  the  early  ado¬ 
lescent  age,  from  the  twelfth  to  the  sixteenth  year;  (2)  the  later  ado¬ 
lescent  age,  from  the  sixteenth  to  the  eighteenth  or  twentieth  year. 

The  boy  from  twelve  to  sixteen  years  of  age  is  characterized  by  a 
rapid  and  uneven  growth.  He  loses  his  chubby,  round  cheeks.  Vital¬ 
ity  and  energy  alternate  with  languorousness,  and  the  child  is  awkward 
and  lazy,  with  bones  greatly  outgrowing  muscle.  “Because  of  the 
unproportionate  growth,  the  hands  and  feet  become  so  large  that  they 
are  ever  in  the  way,  and  ungainliness  and  stumbling  are  the  natural 
result.  The  increased  flow  of  blood  and  rapid  action  of  the  heart  bring 
an  exhilaration  of  spirit,  that  is  unbounded.”  His  whole  nature 
begins  to  change,  because  of  the  change  in  bodily  functions.  “He 
does  not,  can  not  understand  all  these  new  powers;  and  failing  to 
understand  himself,  believes  that  no  one  else  understands  him.  Long¬ 
ing  to  express  his  inner  self,  and  yet  fearful  of  being  misunderstood, 
he  assumes  an  air  of  braggadocio  and  boasting,  lest  any  one  suspect 
how  he  really  feels.” 

Previously  self-centered,  he  now  shows  signs  of  altruism.  His 
longing  for  friendship  is  noticeable;  his  sense  of  secretiveness  is  ap¬ 
parent;  and  his  self-assertiveness  first  begins  to  be  manifested.  During 
the  pre-adolescent  period  he  accepted  what  was  told  him  on  the  author¬ 
ity  of  one  he  loved  or  respected.  Now  the  young  adolescent  enters  a 
world  of  thought  and  action  that  causes  him  to  reject  everything  that 
cannot  be  clearly  demonstrated.  He  is  restless  under  forms  of  re¬ 
straint.  He  is  apt  to  show  disregard  for  the  rights  of  others.  Trust¬ 
ful  dependence  gives  way  to  independence. 

“Deeds  of  prowess  have  a  great  fascination  for  him.  What  others 
have  done  he  can  do,  or  excel.  His  chariot  is  ever  hitched  to  the 
stars;  whether  those  stars  be  baseball  players,  cowboys,  pirates, 
mighty  generals,  or  missionaries,  depends  largely  on  the  books  he 
reads  and  the  company  he  keeps.  The  mysterious  and  awesome 
appeal  to  him  strongly.  The  stories  of  desperadoes,  the  lives  of 
Bible  characters,  and  the  accounts  of  miracles  exert  great  influence 
over  him.  The  boy  is  now  a  hero  worshiper,  and  the  noble  and  truly 
great  call  forth  his  highest  admiration.” 

He  is  keenly  desirous  to  know  the  world,  and  to  fathom  himself. 
He  has  the  passions  of  a  man,  and  the  self-restraint  of  a  child;  the 
vigor  of  a  man,  and  the  judgment  of  a  boy;  he  is  ripe  for  any  course 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


265 


of  conduct  which  suggests  itself  to  him.  The  child  is  beginning  to 
take  command  of  his  own  life. 

Whatever  the  exterior  may  be,  underneath,  the  normal  boy  is 
honest,  faithful,  earnest,  and  trustworthy.  If  the  religious  worker 
is  to  help  these  boys,  he  must  know  the  ideals  and  longings  which 
stir  their  quickened  souls,  even  while  they  assume  the  appearance 
of  rebellion  against  constituted  authority  and  of  dissent  from  con¬ 
ventional  ideas.  In  the  measure  that  the  worker  becomes  one  with 
the  adolescents  in  their  search  for  truth,  and  in  their  endeavor  to  attain 
high  ideals,  will  he  be  successful  in  winning  them  to  Christ.  For 
this  reason,  other  things  being  equal,  a  man  is  the  best  leader  for 
boys,  because  he  may  become  their  ideal. 

Boys  are  not  antagonistic  to  religion,  if  presented  in  the  right 
way,  though  a  distaste  for  it  is  often  caused  by  lack  of  adaptation 
in  the  methods  used.  The  boy  naturally  recoils  from  that  which 
appeals  to  him  as  being  in  any  way  effeminate.  In  too  many  cases 
the  emphasis  is  placed  on  the  love  of  Christ,  forgetting  the  heroism 
to  which  that  love  led  him;  his  gentleness  is  magnified  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  fearlessness  which  enabled  him  to  drive  out  the  money  changers 
from  the  temple,  or  to  face  the  Roman  soldiers;  his  humility  is  urged 
as  an  example,  rather  than  the  greatness  that  made  the  humility 
possible. 

‘‘It  is  the  manly,  the  heroic,  in  Christ  that  should  be  strongly- 
brought  to  them.  Boys  are  intensely  practical,  and  the  result  of 
a  religious  experience  is  what  they  are  looking  for.  Is  it  worth  while? 
The  man  who  can  so  live  Christ  before  them  as  to  make  it  worth 
while,  according  to  their  standard,  is  the  one  who  can  lead  them  into 
a  practical  religious  experience  and  life.” 

Therefore,  does  it  not  seem  imperative,  if  we  are  to  win  and  hold 
our  adolescent  young  people,  that  our  church  school  Bible  instruction, 
and  our  Sabbath  school  and  Missionary  Volunteer  lessons  be  graded, 
and  adapted  to  the  developing  needs  of  the  adolescent  boys  and  girls? 
Many  of  us  look  back  with  a  feeling  of  deepest  gratitude  to  Professor 
Bell  for  the  effort  he  put  forth  to  give  our  boys  and  girls  a  series  of 
graded  Sabbath  school  lessons  which  challenged  and  enlisted  our 
attention  in  Bible  study. 

Bible  Study  Adapted 

Charles  E.  McKinley  says:  “The  evangelism  that  obeys  Him  who 
gave  separate  commands  to  feed  the  lambs  and  tend  the  sheep,  will 
provide  a  graded  gospel.  Only  a  gospel  that  is  graded  by  the  needs 
of  the  hearers  can  save  those  of  different  grades;  only  a  gospel  that 
grows  with  the  growing  soul  can  make  Christian  children  into  Chris- 


266 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


tian  men  and  women.”  Again:  “At  every  stage  of  development,  the 
soul  has  also  its  characteristic  religious  reactions.  There  is  a  char¬ 
acteristic  religion  of  childhood,  of  adolescence,  of  youth,  of  manhood, 
and  of  age.  There  is  also  a  characteristic  Christian  gospel  for  each 
of  these  periods, —  a  gospel  designed  by  its  divine  Author  to  elicit 
wholesome  and  saving  reactions  in  the  growing  soul  at  every  stage.” 

The  modern  Sunday  school  movement  has  made  earnest  effort  to 
adapt  Bible  instruction,  and  has  prepared  a  series  of  lessons  adapted 
to  the  needs  of  the  adolescent  young  people  at  each  successive  stage 
of  their  religious  development.  In  the  earliest  adolescent  years, 
the  lives  of  Bible  men  and  women  are  studied,  showing  the  high 
religious  ideals  of  the  leaders  of  Israel,  thus  enkindling  in  the  pupil 
enthusiasm  for  the  same  ideals,  and  molding  his  character  by  leading 
him  to  express  his  enthusiastic  impulses  in  deeds  of  unselfish  and 
courageous  living.  Special  emphasis  is  laid  on  commonplace  hero¬ 
ism  —  fidelity  to  everyday  duties,  thus  correcting  the  notion  that 
heroism  consists  only  in  doing  the  spectacular  or  the  unusual  thing. 

In  the  fifteenth  year  they  have  a  biographical  study  of  Christ, 
showing  the  aim,  characteristics,  and  achievements  of  his  life.  It 
is  confidently  expected  that  the  faithful  and  reverent  teaching  of 
these  lessons  to  pupils  of  fifteen  by  teachers  themselves  followers  of 
Christ,  will  result  in  the  free  surrender  of  the  pupil  to  Christ  as  his 
Saviour. 

The  work  for  pupils  in  their  sixteenth  year  is  planned  to  strengthen 
and  encourage  the  young  people  who  have  started  in  the  Christian 
life,  and  to  help  others  to  accept  Jesus  by  setting  forth  the  New 
Testament  ideal  of  a  Christian,  by  suggesting  the  fundamental  ex¬ 
periences  and  characteristics  of  the  Christian  life,  by  discussing  the 
difficulties  and  hindrances  which  confront  the  young  Christian,  by 
indicating  the  helps  which  are  available  for  his  Christian  growth; 
to  lead  young  people  into  a  sympathetic  and  intelligent  attitude 
toward  the  church,  and  to  help  them  to  seek  membership  in  it;  to 
awaken  an  interest  in  Bible  reading  and  study  as  a  means  of  per¬ 
sonal  spiritual  growth. 

The  Adolescent  from  Sixteen  to  Nineteen 

From  sixteen  to  nineteen  in  the  life  of  the  youth  comes  a  time 
of  comparative  repose.  The  rate  of  increase  in  height  and  weight  is 
markedly  less;  he  may  have  fits  of  wild  activity,  simply  as  an  outlet 
for  his  physical  energy,  but  these  grow  rarer  with  the  advance  of 
time.  Here  belongs  that  intellectual  development,  characterized 
by  a  first  keen  desire  to  see  life  as  a  unit  and  to  construct  for  oneself 
pt  working  philosophy.  This  is  also  the  period  of  greatest  altruistic 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


267 


interest.  The  social  propensities  are  very  pronounced.  “It  is  then 
that  the  call  of  the  community,  of  business  life,  of  vocation,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  sex  and  the  home  voice,  make  their  big  appeal.” 

Many  theories  of  life  and  religion  before  accepted  unquestioningly 
are  now  questioned.  Some  grow  cynical,  and  tell  you  that  “no  one  is 
what  he  seems.”  Now  the  adolescent  needs  to  meet  honorable  Chris¬ 
tian  men  and  women,  that  they  may  overbalance  those  who  he  thinks 
have  failed.  He  needs  to  know  definitely  the  good  being  done  in  the 
world.  Biographies  of  real  men  and  women  who  are  living  and  work¬ 
ing  for  their  fellows  strengthen  and  steady  him.  Hence  the  impor¬ 
tance  of  Missionary  Volunteer  Reading  Courses! 

He  needs  patience,  sympathy,  and  understanding;  not  censure, 
criticism,  and  ridicule;  to  be  led,  not  driven,  by  those  who  control  him. 
He  needs  to  be  helped  to  realize  his  dreams  in  action.  Here  again, 
the  graded,  adapted  lessons  are  needed. 

The  International  graded  courses  for  those  from  seventeen  to 
twenty  years  of  age,  seek  to  lead  the  pupil  to  see  life  in  proper  per¬ 
spective  from  the  Christian  point  of  view,  and  to  aid  him  in  finding 
his  place  and  part  in  the  world’s  work;  to  lead  the  pupil,  through 
frank  conference  about  himself,  his  limitations,  and  his  relations  to 
the  kingdom  of  God,  to  a  realization  of  the  claims  of  his  Saviour. 
The  history,  literature,  and  religion  of  the  Hebrew  people  are  studied, 
and  it  is  shown  how  the  way  was  prepared  for  the  work  of  Jesus. 
This  is  followed  by  a  survey  of  church  history  from  apostolic  times 
to  the  present  day. 

The  aim  of  this  course  is  to  give  the  young  people  who  are  passing 
through  the  doubting  and  reconstructive  period  a  clear  vision  of  the 
unity  of  revelation,  and  a  definite  acquaintance  with  the  message  of 
Israel’s  Teacher,  to  inspire  right  ideals  of  life  and  service,  to  strengthen 
faith  in  Christianity  by  a  comparative  study  of  the  principal  non- 
Christian  religions  and  Christianity,  and  to  awaken  intelligent  sym¬ 
pathy  in  the  great  cause  of  missions  by  a  careful  study  of  the  world 
as  a  missionary  field,  of  the  methods  of  missionary  work,  and  of  some 
of  the  chief  results  of  missions.  If  such  courses  of  Bible  study  are 
needed  by  the  young  people  of  the  popular  churches,  surely  our 
young  people  who  are  the  special  objects  of  Satan’s  attack  need  the 
help  to  be  received  from  adapted  Bible  courses. 

The  Missionary  Volunteer  secretaryship  is  a  specialized  ministry 
to  young  people,  for  young  people.  The  one  who  fills  this  office 
holds  a  unique  position  with  reference  to  every  young  person,  every 
father  and  mother,  every  worker,  every  young  people’s  society,  and 
every  church  in  his  field.  It  is  his  privilege  to  serve  them  all  at  their 
point  of  greatest  need.  He  is  a  specialist  on  young  people’s  problems. 


268  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 

Today,  men  and  women  in  the  educational  and  religious  worlds 
are  giving  special  study  to  the  adolescent,  with  all  his  perplexing 
problems.  Then  shall  not  we,  as  Missionary  Volunteer  secretaries 
and  as  educators,  seek  to  become  acquainted  with  the  best  methods 
of  reaching  and  helping  our  struggling  boys  and  girls,  who  are  pass¬ 
ing  through  this  storm-and-stress  period?  Shall  we  not  be  more 
sympathetic  and  energetic  in  our  efforts  to  win  them  to  Christ?  Shall 
we  not  study  to  adapt  our  plans  of  work  and  Bible  instruction  to 
their  specific  needs?  May  the  wisdom  of  God  direct  us  in  our  efforts 
to  study  and  bring  our  young  people  to  Christ. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  JUNIORS,  AND  HOW 

TO  WIN  THEM 

KATHERINE  B.  HALE 

The  church  of  today  is  recruited  from  the  childhood  of  yesterday. 
The  children  and  youth  of  today  are  the  hope  of  this  finishing  gospel 
message.  Grave  and  important  are  the  responsibilities  that  await 
the  children  and  youth  of  this  generation.  The  solution  of  the 
problem,  “The  gospel  of  the  kingdom  to  all  the  world  in  this  gener¬ 
ation,”  is  not  a  problem  for  adults  only.  The  problem  for  the  church 
of  today  is  the  youth  problem,  and  the  Junior  department  is  the 
first  end  of  this  problem.  The  success  of  the  Junior  department 
makes  certain  the  success  of  the  young  people’s  department. 

The  junior  age  is  the  golden  opportunity  of  the  Christian  worker. 
At  no  other  time  is  the  heart  so  impressionable;  at  no  other  time 
does  right  influence  count  for  so  much;  at  no  other  time  are  such 
molding  decisions  possible  as  in  childhood  and  early  youth.  The 
streams  of  power  that  move  the  things  of  this  world  have  their  sources 
in  solitary  places.  The  stream  of  influence  that  determines  the  flow 
of  life’s  current  is  given  its  direction  in  early  youth. 

The  junior  age  is  preeminently  the  habit-forming  age.  It  is  the 
literal  age,  the  time  the  child  questions,  “Is  it  true?”  It  is  the  read¬ 
ing  age.  It  is  the  memory  age.  It  is  the  age  of  faith,  the  age  of  re¬ 
spect  for  authority.  It  is  the  age  of  emulation,  of  hero-worship. 
Affection  is  another  leading  characteristic  of  childhood.  It  is  the 
age  of  curiosity,  imitation. 

All  these  general  traits  of  childhood,  and  all  the  particular  traits 
of  each  individual  child,  are,  if  rightly  interpreted,  but  so  many  paths 
Godward.  Every  trait  is  a  direct  avenue  along  which  the  developing 
mind  may  be  led  to  travel  to  the  All-Father.  Was  not  this  what 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


269 


Jesus  meant  when  he  said,  “Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto 
me,  and  forbid  them  not:  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God”  ?  Will 
they  not  come  if  the  way  is  shown  and  no  hindering  conditions  pre¬ 
vail  to  obstruct  their  progress?  We  all  know  that  they  will. 

All  the  wonderful  emotions  of  the  human  soul  are  present  in  the 
budding  life.  If  we  are  not  frightened  by  explosive  energy;  if  we  are 
not  impatient  with  inherited  weaknesses,  remembering,  as  did  Liv¬ 
ingstone  in  his  contact  with  the  children  of  the  Dark  Continent, 
that  even  we  have  faults  of  our  own;  if  we  can  look  upon  children 
with  what  has  been  termed  “the  far-sighted  vision,”  we  shall  find  our 
boys  and  girls,  wherever  we  meet  them,  the  same  willing,  lovable 
younger  brothers  and  sisters,  responding  just  as  did  the  big  children 
of  Africa  to  the  genuine  love  of  their  beloved  white  brother,  who,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  was  enabled  to  present  our  Elder  Brother  to  the 
adult  children  of  heathenism,  and  win  them  from  the  heritage  of  wrong. 

We  hear  a  great  deal  these  days  about  the  “Big  Brother  Move¬ 
ment.”  We  believe  in  this  movement.  Have  we  not  every  one 
reaped  the  benefits  of  this  ideal  type  of  friendship  in  our  own  lives? 
Every  youth  needs  an  older  mentor.  Christian  workers  stand  as 
the  spiritual  fathers  and  mothers  of  the  youth  won  to  Christ. 

Says  Dr.  Merrill,  “You  and  I  are  a  part  of  some  junior’s  troubles. 
Back  of  his  character  is  the  influence  that  has  emanated  from  your 
life  and  mine.  We  and  others  who  have  preceded  him  have  made 
the  boy.  Let  us  become  acquainted  with  ourselves,  and  be  patient 
with  the  boy.  He  is  in  the  transition.  Tomorrow  you  will  have  a 
man.” 

Another  writer  has  said:  “The  boy  is  not  a  miniature  man,  but 
an  embryonic  one.  Both  the  physical  organization  and  the  mental 
faculties  are  in  many  essentials  purely  rudimentary.” 

The  wise  worker  must  recognize  the  limitations  of  the  junior  age. 
The  child  is  weak  in  attention  and  in  reasoning  power.  He  is  ego¬ 
tistical,  absorbed  in  his  own  activities.  There  is  a  general  vagueness 
in  regard  to  many  things  that  concern  the  spiritual  life.  The  child 
grapples  with  a  heritage  of  weakness.  The  individual  who  would 
help  the  child  must  not  ignore  this  weakness.  He  must  not  fight  it, 
thus  emphasizing  the  fault.  Neither  should  the  child  be  left  alone 
to  conquer  himself  in  his  own  strength.  Verily  it  is  in  childhood  that 
an  acquaintance  with  the  strong  Helper  —  a  consciousness  of  the 
kinship  with  the  All-Father  —  is  most  appropriate  and  opportune. 

We  do  not  agree  with  the  celebrated  clergyman  who  is  quoted  as 
saying,  “There  are  no  heathen  children.”  In  his  “Handbook  for 
Sunday  School  Workers,”  Dr.  Schauffler  well  says:  “It  is  all  very  well 
to  talk  poetically  about  the  beauty  of  child  life,  but  child  life  left 


270 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


absolutely  to  itself  will  develop  substantially  as  child  life  now  develops. 
We  therefore  say  that  children  have  inherited  natures  that  have  a 
bent  toward  evil,  and  must  be  cared  for.  Our  aim  for  these  children 
must  be  twofold:  first,  to  bring  them  by  divine  grace  into  sweet  sub¬ 
jection  to  Jesus  as  Saviour  and  Master;  the  second,  to  nurture  them 
in  divine  life.” 

It  is  not  sufficient  that  we  evolve  that  which  is  good  and  repress 
that  which  is  evil.  As  soon  as  a  child  consciously  does  wrong,  so 
soon  should  he  consciously  repent.  As  soon  as  a  child  understands 
that  he  is  alienated  from  the  divine  will,  so  soon  should  he  be  made 
to  understand  how  he  can  be  reconciled  to  the  divine  will.  Hence  we 
must  recognize  conversion  as  the  indispensable  foundation  of  all 
moral  training. 

Child  discipleship  must  also  include  culture.  Says  one  writer, 
“We  must  consider  carefully  the  child’s  natural  characteristics,  to 
help  him  to  be  more  completely  the  child  of  God.”  Just  as  the  child’s 
instinct  of  activity  calls  for  the  training  of  the  muscles;  as  the  in¬ 
stinct  of  investigation  is  met  by  the  training  of  the  senses;  as  his 
instinct  of  power  calls  for  the  training  of  the  emotions;  his  instinct 
of  love,  the  affections;  his  instinct  of  recognition,  the  will;  so  do  his 
instincts  of  imitation  and  reason  call  for  the  training  of  worship  and 
reverence.  And  the  guiding  star  to  our  goal  is  the  little  child’s  love. 
For  what  we  make  our  children  love  and  desire  is  more  important 
than  what  we  make  them  learn.  This  last  is  a  truth  worth  great 
emphasis. 

In  taking  account  of  a  child’s  natural  characteristics  in  helping 
him  live  religiously,  we  must  not  fail  to  consider  his  individuality. 
No  two  children  have  ever  been  exactly  alike.  It  is  for  us  to  study 
the  individual  child  —  his  likenesses  and  divergencies.  There  is  the 
shy  child,  the  timid  child,  the  passionate  child,  the  nervous  child, 
the  destructive  child, —  all  these  types  and  combinations  of  types. 
One  child  needs  much  help  toward  self-government,  another  toward 
unselfishness,  a  third  toward  good  temper.  We  need  to  make  obedi¬ 
ence  seem  very  desirable  to  one  child,  generosity  to  another. 

An  excellent  way  for  one  to  study  the  characteristics  of  juniors  is 
simply  to  make  use  of  the  memory.  What  more  excellent  way  to 
study  methods  of  winning  the  youth  than  to  review  often  the  ex¬ 
periences  of  one’s  own  junior  age?  What  were  my  characteristics  as 
a  child  ?  How  was  I  won  to  accept  right  ideals  ?  Was  it  by  right 
example  in  the  home?  Was  it  the  faithfulness  of  some  Christian 
worker  who  led  me  to  love  the  things  of  the  kingdom?  Over  what  did 
I  stumble  longest  before  making  a  complete  surrender?  Wherein 
was  I  hindered?  Was  it  by  precept  or  example  that  I  was  most  in- 


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271 


fluenced?  Was  it  quantity  or  quality  of  religious  teaching  that  won 
my  heart  to  Jesus?  What  was  it  that  made  me  happiest  as  a  child? 

We  are  told  that  hundreds  and  thousands  of  children  and  youth 
can  be  won  to  Christ  if  we  will  but  work  for  them.  We  do  not  believe 
that  this  can  be  brought  about  unless  individual  work  is  done  for  the 
individual  boy  and  girl.  Our  boys  and  girls  cannot  be  redeemed  in 
the  aggregate.  If  numbers  of  children  are  won  to  Jesus  through  our 
efforts,  it  will  be  because  they  have  been  reached  one  by  one  through 
the  direct  and  earnest  personality  of  the  individual  worker  gifted 
with  the  power  to  win  the  love  and  confidence  of  the  individual 
youth.  It  is  my  belief  that  there  is  no  greater  honor  than  to  be  the 
recipient  of  the  confidence  of  a  child. 

I  quote  from  Judge  Lindsey:  “When  you  seek  to  win  a  boy,  go 
after  his  heart.  Learn  to  sympathize.  Sympathy  is  the  divinest 
quality  of  the  human  heart.  It  was  the  secret  of  the  winnings  of 
our  Master  when  he  trod  the  earth;  but  no  one  ever  accused  him  of 
defending  or  justifying  sin.  Every  worker  for  childhood,  whether 
the  father  in  the  home,  the  teacher  in  the  school,  the  probation  officer, 
or  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court, —  all  are  agreed  that  formation  is 
the  thing  we  most  need  in  dealing  with  human  character,  and  formation 
comes  within  through  the  human  heart  and  not  from  without  through 
iron  bars  or  any  other  methods  of  force  and  violence,  whether  nagging 
and  faultfinding  in  the  home  or  detention  behind  stone  walls.  Man¬ 
kind  must  be  redeemed  through  love,  and  love  works  through  the 
human  heart.” 

“Come,  let  us  live  with  the  children.”  Thus  we  may  win  the  child 
by  association.  By  having  a  part  in  the  spirit  of  youth  we  may  win 
the  youth  to  the  higher  ideals  of  life.  After  all,  is  it  not  in  the  every¬ 
day  life  that  we  need  the  uplift  of  correct  example?  Where  does  the 
youth  need  the  power  of  Christ  most,  in  the  devotional  service  Sabbath 
afternoons,  or  in  the  weekly  round  of  duties  and  pleasures?  In  which 
place  does  the  Christian  worker  discover  the  real  problems  of  youth? 
Is  not  association  one  key  to  the  situation? 

Again,  let  us  win  the  children  through  Christian  service.  All 
exercises  which  awaken  the  active  powers  of  the  child  and  which  min¬ 
ister  to  his  capacity  for  rendering  loving  service  to  fellow  creatures, 
will  help  to  lay  a  right  foundation  for  spiritual  growth.  By  arousing 
an  interest  in  religious  activities  in  early  youth,  he  who  has  been  edu¬ 
cated  in  the  Christ  ideal  of  self-sacrifice,  in  small  acts  of  helpfulness, 
will  lead  the  children  into  a  kinship  with  the  lives  of  others.  Their 
sympathy  will  be  aroused,  and  the  children  will  begin  their  first  small 
self-sacrifices,  impelled  by  the  great  dynamo,  love  —  love  to  God, 
and  the  wish  to  cooperate  with  him  in  caring  for  flowers  and  birds; 


272 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


love  of  parents,  and  the  desire  to  please  them  by  carrying  out  their 
wishes;  love  of  neighbors,  thus  giving  rise  to  the  birth  of  the  missionary 
spirit,  which,  in  its  essence,  is  helping  those  in  need. 

Lastly,  let  us  ever  remember  that  it  is  not  to  ourselves  that  we 
are  to  win  the  youth,  but  to  Jesus,  to  the  Saviour.  Let  us  not  forget 
that  this  work  is  far  beyond  human  power.  Theorizing  about  religion 
is  not  the  way  to  protect  the  child’s  soul.  Teach  him  to  pray  and  to 
believe  in  prayer.  Upon  this  point  we  may  well  ask  ourselves,  “Is 
my  example  a  force  or  a  farce?’’ — a  very  pertinent  question.  The 
true  believer  is  the  channel  of  divine  power  if  through  prayer  he  brings 
himself  into  connection  with  the  divine  power-house. 

What  we  need  in  this  work  for  the  children  is  a  great  revival  of 
faith  on  the  part  of  adults.  It  was  through  the  faith  of  the  ruler 
Tairus  that  the  little  maid  who  lay  “sleeping”  in  his  home  was  brought 
to  life.  O  that  the  children  of  all  our  homes  might  be  awakened  by 
the  great  Life-giver  —  that  they  might  respond  to  his  call,  “Arise!” 
Would  that  all  Christian  workers  might  see  where  their  true  harvest 
lies,  and  where  the  most  promising  sphere  of  labor  is  to  be  found! 

It  is  a  solemn  thought  that  each  year  that  passes  decreases  the 
probability  of  that  child  in  your  home,  of  that  youth  in  your  church, 
coming  to  Christ.  Vast  sums  of  money,  much  time  and  great  labor, 
are  spent  in  presenting  the  truth  to  the  older  folk.  Every  Christian 
laborer  knows  how  difficult  it  is  to  bring  the  adult  sinner  to  Christ. 
We  are  learning  how  comparatively  easy  it  is  to  bring  the  little  child. 
It  is  not  only  easier,  but  less  costly.  Just  as  Jesus  recognized  in  the 
children  and  youth  at  the  time  of  his  earthly  ministry  those  who  were 
to  be  the  future  heralds  of  his  gospel,  so  at  this  time  does  he  not  wish 
us  to  see  in  the  children  and  youth  of  our  generation  parallel  possi¬ 
bilities?  The  message  will  be  carried  by  the  youth  and  children  in 
the  near  future.  Let  our  motto  in  this  Junior  department  be,  “Every 
child  for  Christ,  and  every  child  a  worker.” 

DISCUSSION 

C.  C.  Lewis:  I  find  myself  in  confusion  with  regard  to  the  scope 
of  these  terms, —  Senior  and  Junior.  I  supposed  that  Juniors  were 
boys  and  girls  of  twelve  to  fifteen  years  of  age,  but  now  I  see  that 
Miss  Hale’s  mind  is  largely  upon  the  children. 

I  had  in  mind  to  relate  a  little  experience  that  came  under  my 
observation  in  working  for  this  class  of  boys.  I  think  the  matter 
started  in  Sabbath  school.  There  was  a  class  that  did  not  want  to 
stay  with  the  children.  I  think  they  were  twelve  or  fifteen  years  of 
age.  They  did  not  study  their  Sabbath  school  lessons  very  much. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


273 


They  would  come  to  the  class,  but  did  not  take  much  interest  in  the 
lesson.  Two  or  three  young  people,  not  very  old  themselves  (perhaps 
eighteen  or  twenty),  took  an  interest  in  those  boys,  and  decided  to 
try  to  do  something  for  them;  so  they  started  some  meetings  on  Sab¬ 
bath  afternoon,  and  the  interest  grew  until  other  boys  came,  and 
finally  there  were  fifteen  or  twenty  boys  coming  to  that  Sabbath 
afternoon  meeting. 

Then  they  wanted  an  organization,  which  was  a  natural  thing. 
That  is  a  characteristic  of  juniors.  I  do  not  think  it  is  a  character¬ 
istic  of  the  children,  but  it  is  of  the  juniors,  to  want  to  form  societies. 
It  is  recognized  as  the  “gang  spirit.”  Those  boys  wanted  to  form 
a  society.  They  counseled  with  Professor  Kern  and  Professor  Benson 
about  it,  and  they  brought  their  constitution  to  me  for  criticism. 
I  could  not  help  but  smile  at  that  constitution.  It  was  big  enough 
and  broad  enough  to  run  a  State.  But  I  did  not  criticize  it  much. 
The  name  they  had  chosen  was  “The  Sligo  Clan.”  That  sounded 
like  a  war-whoop  at  once;  but  then,  the  name  of  the  church  had  just 
been  changed  from  “the  Sanitarium-Seminary  church”  to  “the 
Sligo  church.”  There  was  nothing  very  religious  about  the  name 
the  boys  had  chosen,  but  neither  was  there  anything  irreligious,  else 
the  church  would  not  have  called  themselves  “the  Sligo  church.” 

The  constitution  was  a  very  good  one.  It  recognized  the  fact 
that  they  were  Seventh-day  Adventist  boys,  and  that  they  wanted 
to  become  true  men.  They  held  a  religious  meeting  on  Sabbath 
afternoon,  and  during  the  week  they  had  another  meeting  which 
was  of  a  different  nature.  They  secured  a  room  and  fitted  it  up 
with  pictures,  chairs,  reading  table,  etc.  They  had  some  books  and 
papers,  and  they  had  some  apparatus  for  physical  exercise,  of  which 
they  made  use  during  the  week. 

But  they  did  some  other  things.  They*  found  a  widow  with  three 
or  four  children,  very  poor  and  hardly  able  to  get  along,  and  they 
took  upon  themselves  the  burden  of  cutting  up  her  wood. 

There  was  one  boy  who  lived  not  far  from  our  house  two  years 
ago.  He  was  then  just  coming  into  this  junior  class  that  I  have 
spoken  of,  but  he  was  rather  rough  and  uncouth.  His  mother  was 
a  Sabbath  keeper,  but  his  father  was  not  a  Christian.  He  had  stopped 
going  to  school  two  or  three  years  before,  did  not  care  any  more  about 
school.  His  father  was  a  carpenter,  and  he  wanted  to  learn  that 
trade.  This  boy’s  interest  in  the  “Clan”  steadily  increased,  and  he 
began  to  read  the  Scriptures  with  my  boy.  He  would  come  over 
almost  every  night  for  that  purpose.  The  “Clan”  had  started  to 
read -the  Bible  through.  He  was  then  at  the  careless,  indifferent 
age;  but  soon  he  began  to  spruce  up  and  wear  different-colored  neck- 

■  18 


274 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


ties,  and  sometimes  he  brought  armfuls  of  wild  honeysuckle  to  oiir 
niece  who  was  living  with  us.  Well,  to  make  a  long  story  short,  that 
boy  is  getting  ready  to  be  baptized. 

I  believe  here  is  a  kind  of  work  for  these  juniors  for  which  we 
should  make  a  better  provision  than  we  have.  We  should  recognize 
the  difference  between  children  and  juniors  and  young  people. 

Mrs.  Williams:  Of  all  Seventh-day  Adventists  these  questions 
are  asked:  “Where  are  the  guardians  of  the  youth?  Who  has  taken 
a  firm  hold  of  the  throne  of  God  with  one  hand,  and  with  the  other 
encircled  the  youth  to  draw  them  to  Christ?  ”  All  who  have  attempted 
to  do  this  have  found  our  Father  ready  to  help. 

C.  C.  Lewis:  I  wanted  to  call  attention  to  the  confusion  in  our 
use  of  the  terms  “senior”  and  “junior.”  We  use  them  in  three 
different  senses, —  in  day  schools,  in  Missionary  Volunteer  work,  and 
in  our  Sabbath  schools.  I  cannot  help  saying  that  the  use  of  them 
in  the  Sabbath  school  is  more  nearly  in  accord  with  my  idea  of  the 
meaning  of  the  word.  I  believe  that  the  term  junior  more  properly 
applies  to  the  early  adolescent  period.  I  believe  we  should  come  to 
an  understanding  concerning  this. 

M.  E.  Kern:  That  is  a  good  suggestion. 

E.  C.  Kellogg:  The  greatest  blessing  that  can  be  experienced 
by  a  growing  boy  or  a  young  man  is  that  of  having-,  or  having  had, 
good  parents, —  a  father  and  mother  with  so  much  love  and  sympathy, 
kindness  and  gentleness,  good  judgment  and  firmness,  that  they 
have  taught  perfect  and  implicit  obedience.  That,  in  connection 
with  early  training  of  the  same  kind  in  school,  will  go  a  long  way 
toward  taking  them  through  this  age  we  are  considering. 

I  shall  mention  just  two  points:  This  period  in  the  young  person’s 
life  is  characterized  by  strength.  The  message  came  to  the  young 
men  because  they  were  strong.  In  fact,  this  is  the  time  when  the 
young  man  sometimes  feels  like  disregarding  parental  authority. 
His  strength  tends  to  manifest  itself  in  that  way, —  to  show  his  vigor 
by  disregard  for  authority. 

You  will  find,  I  think,  in  the  favor  of  the  young  man,  that  he  is 
worse  than  he  thinks  he  is.  I  mean  by  that  that  he  may  do  some  things 
that  appear  bad,  but  he  does  not  violate  his  conscience.  For  instance, 
we  have  the  chapel  hour,  and  we  wish  to  have  ideal  conditions  during 
that  time;  but  a  young  man  may  entertain  his  seat-mate  with  the 
point  of  a  pin.  This  will  create  considerable  disturbance  which  is 
noticed  by  the  speaker;  but  if  you  talk  with  the  young  man,  you  will 
find  that  he  never  did  it  before,  and  purposes  never  to  do  it  again; 
you  will  find  that  it  was  only  an  accident  that  the  speaker  noticed  it; 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


275 


and  that  even  the  one  lie  was  entertaining  partly  enjoyed  it.  So  I 
say,  it  is  in  his  favor  that  he  is  worse  than  he  thinks  he  is. 

Another  point:  This  is  the  age  of  doubting.  It  is  the  age  when 
the  boy  asks,  “Why?”  And  this  comes  up  especially  strong  in  regard 
to  religion.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  have  some 
anti-infidel  literature, —  perhaps  a  small  book  on  the  evidences  of 
Christianity  or  something  in  the  nature  of  anti-infidel  sentiments. 
A  book  would  be  better  than  a  tract,  because  it  would  have  more  in  it. 

Much  can  be  done  by  coming  in  close,  sympathetic  contact  with 
these  young  people,  laying  before  them  the  importance  of  the  Christian 
life,  the  blessings  of  the  Christian  religion,  the  hope  of  the  Christian, 
and  the  great  work  that  we  have  to  do,  and  the  fact  that  it  is  the 
only  thing  on  earth  in  which  there  is  any  stability  or  any  future. 


Miss  Grace  Davison:  Most  of  the  characteristics  that  have 
been  spoken  of  this  morning  regarding  the  adolescent  life  of  the  boy 
apply  to  the  girl  also.  There  is  one  that  figures  very  much  in  the  work 
for  the  adolescent  girl,  and  that  is  hero-worship.  You  will  find  that 
nearly  every  girl  has  picked  some  woman  who  is  her  ideal,  and  what¬ 
ever  that  woman  does  is  all  right,  and  you  will  find  that  shortly  this 
young  person  will  begin  to  imitate,  as  was  mentioned  this  morning, 
and  will  do  the  very  things  that  the  ideal  does.  Of  course  it  is  natu¬ 
ral  that  it  should  be  a  woman,  and  it  is  important  that  our  women 
workers  be  such  that  the  young  people  can  imitate  them.  The  truth 
is  sought  in  these  ideals,  and  the  truth  that  these  women  live  will  do 
more  than  the  truth  that  is  spoken. 

The  social  characteristic  is  very  essential,  too,  in  our  work.  We 
find  that  at  the  age  of  ten  or  twelve,  the  girls  begin  to  form  companies 
or  cliques,  and  it  is  at  this  time  that  we  can  do  our  best  work  for  them, 
because  if  we  win  their  confidence,  we  can  then  learn  their  needs  more 
than  at  any  other  time,  and  certainly  I  think  we  should  associate 
with  our  young  people.  The  way  to  work  with  them  is  to  know  them 
and  to  understand  their  needs.  Let  us  find  out  the  things  that  they 
do  not  care  for,  so  that  we  may  avoid  them.  I  think  we  often  make 
the  mistake  of  trying  to  urge  upon  our  young  people  that  which  they 
do  not  care  for.  We  sometimes  misjudge  them. 

M.  E.  Kern:  I  think  one  of  the  best  tests  is,  that  young  people 
come  to  you  with  their  joys  and  their  troubles.  We  cannot  help 
them  unless  they  recognize  us  as  their  friends. 


CAMP  MEETING  WORK 

MEADE  MAC  GUIRE 

The  camp  meeting  holds  great  possibilities  as  a  time  of  spiritual 
refreshing  for  our  young  people,  and  for  reaping  the  harvest  from  the 
year’s  effort  in  their  behalf.  Several  factors  have  a  determining 
influence  upon  the  results  of  camp  meeting  work  for  the  young. 

i.  The  Secretary’s  Work  during  the  Year 

The  extent  and  character  of  the  work  done  by  the  secretary  during 
the  year  may  be  readily  detected  at  the  camp  meeting.  If  it  has 
been  superficial,  spasmodic,  and  formal,  it  takes  much  more  time  to 
awaken  a  deep  spiritual  interest  and  organize  the  converted  young 
people  for  prayer  and  personal  work.  If  it  has  been  spiritual,  un¬ 
selfish,  persevering,  and  systematic,  the  same  characteristics  will  be 
evident  in  the  camp  meeting  work. 

2.  Cooperation  of  Conference  Officers  and  Workers 

The  greatest  measure  of  success  cannot  be  expected  unless  the 
conference  president  and  other  officers  and  workers  manifest  an 
active  interest  in  the  young  people’s  meetings  and  work.  To  have 
conference  officers  taking  an  active  part  in  school  meetings,  canvassers’ 
meetings,  medical  and  other  department  meetings,  and  outwardly 
ignore  the  young  people’s  meetings,  is  certainly  unfortunate.  Interest, 
or  lack  of  interest,  on  the  part  of  the  conference  officers  may  be  one 
of  the  most  important  tests  of  a  secretary’s  real  ability  and  fitness  for 
his  position. 

3.  Preparation  for  the  Meeting 

A  striking  lesson  on  the  importance  of  the  little  things  may  be 
learned  on  this  point.  There  is  always  much  to  be  done  at  camp 
meeting,  and  the  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary  may  be  asked  to 
take  charge  of  anything  from  the  cooking  department  to  the  music. 
As  a  result,  we  sometimes  find  the  young  people’s  meeting  tent  un¬ 
prepared,  no  reception  tent,  no  library,  register,  or  other  necessary 
preparations,  and  worst  of  all,  no  organization.  There  certainly 
must  be  a  strange  lack  of  apprehension  of  the  magnitude  and  impor¬ 
tance  of  the  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary’s  duties  when  such  ar¬ 
rangements  are  made,  or  is  it  perhaps  a  lack  on  the  part  of  the  secre¬ 
tary  himself?  If  he  realizes  that  no  one  on  the  ground  is  charged  with 
heavier  burdens  or  more  sacred  responsibilities,  he  will  be  quite  likely 
to  impress  others  with  the  same  idea,  and  be  offered  help  rather  than 
given  heavier  burdens. 

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COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


277 


Much  depends  upon  having  the  meeting  tent  in  good  order,  made 
cheerful  by  simple,  tasteful  decorations,  ready  for  the  first  meeting. 
The  Missionary  Volunteer  reception  tent  should  also  be  ready,  with  the 
Reading  Course  books  in  a  “home-made”  bookcase,  a  table  for 
,  magazines,  display  cards  or  rack  for  Missionary  Volunteer  leaflets, 
and  some  good  mottoes. 

4.  Prayer  and  Personal  Workers’  Tent 

One  of  the  most  important  though  most  neglected  essentials  to 
success  is  a  tent  for  prayer  and  personal  work.  Why  is  it  that  while 
we  acknowledge  the  quiet  heart-to-heart  work  to  be  of  greatest  im¬ 
portance,  we  make  little  or  no  provision  for  it?  There  is  something 
extremely  inappropriate  and  incongruous  about  sitting  down  in  a  big 
public  tent  where  people  are  coming  and  going,  talking  and  laughing, 
to  help  some  young  person  who  has  almost  reached  the  point  of  despair 
in  his  struggle  to  meet  personal  problems  and  temptations.  He  may 
be  under  great  conviction,  may  weep  and  pray,  while  the  curious  look 
on  and  wonder  what  the  trouble  is.  It  is  absolutely  essential  to 
have  some  quiet  place  where  prayer  and  personal  work  may  be  con¬ 
ducted  with  some  privacy. 

5.  Arrangements  on  the  Grounds 

There  must  be  no  haphazard  work  if  we  are  to  expect  success, 
but  a  definite  program  should  be  prepared  in  advance,  and  adhered 
to  as  closely  as  possible.  I  have  known  the  person  in  charge  of  the 
services  to  call  upon  some  one  to  conduct  the  meeting  five  or  ten 
minutes  before  the  hour  for  it  to  convene.  Perhaps  he  refused,  and 
another  was  asked,  and  still  another,  until  one  was  found  who  was 
eager  enough  for  an  opportunity  to  talk,  to  assume  such  a  respon¬ 
sibility  at  a  moment’s  notice.  Usually  such  a  person  has  not  secured 
the  power  by  prevailing  beforehand  with  God,  that  would  have 
enabled  him  to  prevail  with  the  people.  How  lightly  we  waste  op¬ 
portunities  which  eternity  will  reveal  to  have  been  infinitely  precious! 

6.  Cooperation  of  Leaders 

If  there  are  present  the  conference  and  union  conference  Mission¬ 
ary  Volunteer  secretaries,  and  a  general  worker  or  some  local  worker 
who  is  appointed  to  assist,  all  should  work  together  like  a  well-trained 
team.  Any  lack  of  unity  here,  from  personal  feelings,  carelessness, 
or  selfishness,  is  inexcusable.  The  work  should  be  planned  together 
at  least  a  day  or  two  in  advance,  so  that  each  one  will  have  ample 
time  for  the  special  preparation  necessary.  It  may  be  superfluous 
to  say  that  such  unity  of  thought  and  action  is  the  result  of  much 


278  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 

seeking  of  God  together;  and  yet  I  have  had  the  experience  of  plead¬ 
ing  in  vain  day  after  day  for  a  daily  prayer  and  council  meeting  of 
those  in  charge  of  the  young  people’s  work  on  the  ground.  But 
this  is  indispensable.  Those  who  presume  to  neglect  it  will  surely 
fall  short. 

7.  Cooperation  of  Parents 

One  of  the  greatest  factors  in  camp  meeting  success  is  to  have  the 
help  and  prayers  of  the  parents.  With  many  young  people  success 
or  failure  in  the  Christian  life  will  depend  largely  on  the  home  life. 
If  a  parents’  meeting  can  be  held  early,  in  wrhich  the  needs  of  the 
youth  and  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  parents  can  be  set  forth 
in  a  sympathetic  but  faithful  manner,  and  an  appeal  made  that  all 
barriers  and  reserve  between  parents  and  children  be  melted  away 
by  prayer  and  confession  and  patient,  persevering  effort,  much  may 
be  accomplished  that  could  not  otherwise  be  done. 

8.  Constructive  Evangelistic  Work 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  twro  meetings  a  day  should  be  held. 
All  will  also  agree  that  the  matter  presented  at  these  meetings  is  of 
great  importance.  It  is  therefore  surprising  to  see  so  much  haphazard 
work  here  —  so  little  system  and  forethought.  A  series  of  good 
little  talks  entirely  independent  and  disconnected  as  to  theme  and 
purpose,  and  given  by  different  persons  called  in  on  short  notice, 
can  never  bring  the  best  results. 

The  plan  which  appeals  most  to  me  is  a  definite  series  of  studies 
for  the  morning  devotional  meetings,  carefully  prepared  by  two  or 
three  persons,  and  taking  up  in  a  brief,  practical  way  the  points  of 
character  most  in  need  of  strengthening  by  our  young  people.  For 
example,  a  study  on  “Keeping  the  Body  Under,”  then  “Christian 
Conversation,”  “The  Mastery  of  the  Thoughts,”  “Having  an  Aim  in 
Life,”  “The  Habit  of  Prayer,”  etc.  These  topics  are  well  adapted  to 
a  healthy,  practical  revival  spirit  of  repentance,  confession,  and  reso¬ 
lution  each  morning.  I  believe  if  we  had  the  pledge  now  appearing 
in  the  camp  meeting  leaflet,  printed  on  cards  for  use  on  the  ground, 
it  would  be  helpful,  and  would  enable  us  to  secure  a  much  more  general 
cooperation  from  the  young  people  than  we  sometimes  have. 

For  the  afternoon  meetings  I  believe  we  gain  most  by  emphasizing 
the  main  lines  of  our  Missionary  Volunteer  work,  taking  up  the  goal 
item  by  item,  and  making  the  school  work  also  prominent.  As  the 
importance  of  reading  the  Bible  through  is  presented,  enrollment 
blanks  should  be  distributed,  and  as  many  as  possible  induced  to 
sign  them.  This  same  method  should  be  followed  with  the  Reading 
Courses,  Standard  of  Attainment,  financial  goal,  school  attendance, 


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279 


etc.  In  this  way  we  construct  for  them  a  tangible  basis  for  Christian 
life  and  growth.  They  learn  that  the  Christian  experience  is  not  a 
theory,  but  is  real,  positive  living. 

9.  Camp  Meeting  Organization 

We  are  told  in  the  Testimonies  that  “by  engaging  in  work  at 
the  camp  meeting,  all  may  be  learning  how  to  work  successfully  in 
their  home  churches.”  It  should  be  the  plan  of  the  Missionary 
Volunteer  secretary  to  have  the  ground  districted,  leaders  appointed, 
bands  organized,  and  every  Christian  young  person  on  the  ground 
at  work  within  forty-eight  hours  after  the  meeting  begins.  I  do  not 
suppose  it  takes  the  enemy  that  long  to  get  organized  for  business 
on  the  ground.  A  systematic  use  of  the  personal  workers’  cards  has 
been  very  helpful  in  many  places.  So  much  has  been  said  and  written 
on  this  phase  of  the  work  that  it  is  probably  unnecessary  to  suggest 
details  here.  One  of  the  greatest  essentials  is  a  daily  meeting  of  each 
prayer  band,  and  a  daily  meeting  of  the  leaders  to  report  work  done 
and  discuss  special  cases,  methods,  etc. 

10.  Work  with  Literature 

At  some  camp  meetings  there  are  enthusiastic  workers  who  desire 
to  take  the  young  people  out  into  the  city  to  distribute  literature 
or  do  Christian  help  work,  or  engage  in  some  other  missionary  effort. 
These  laborers  are  usually  well  qualified  to  do  such  work,  and  may 
make  it  a  blessing  to  the  young  people,  though  I  doubt  the  advis¬ 
ability  of  allowing  it  to  interfere  with  the  regular  services  for  the 
young  people,  or  to  be  conducted  without  the  most  careful  super¬ 
vision.  Many  innocent  and  simple  young  people  have  been  swept 
off  their  feet  by  new  and  untried  circumstances  which  surrounded 
them  at  camp  meeting,  and  for  which  the  leaders  did  not  realize 
they  were  so  unprepared. 

11.  Who  shall  Lead  the  Meetings? 

This  is  one  of  the  most  important  questions  to  be  considered  and 
settled.  There  are  sometimes  workers  who  come  flying  in  with  a 
breezy  talk  and  amusing  stories,  and  easily  captivate  the  young 
people.  Three  or  four  talks  in  as  many  days,  and  they  pass  on  to 
other  fields.  But  those  who  have  a  real  burden  of  soul  for  the  young 
people  know  well  that  a  condition  exists  with  many  which  can  never 
be  remedied  by  such  meetings.  There  is  a  vast  difference  between 
having  a  burden  to  talk  to  the  young  people,  and  having  a  burden  for 
their  souls.  Usually  one  who  sees  the  need  of  the  youth  and  feels  a 
crushing  burden  for  them  is  slow  to  urge  himself  forward  or  to  criti¬ 
cize  those  who  are  carrying  the  responsibility.  As  a  rule,  I  believe 


280 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


the  camp  meeting  work  should  be  largely  conducted  by  those  who 
can  attend  all  through  the  meeting,  and  who  will  enter  earnestly 
into  the  daily  program  of  meetings,  prayer,  organization,  and  personal 
work.  Let  those  in  charge  arrange  for  a  proper  representation  of  the 
school  work  and  the  book  work,  and  for  a  meeting  at  some  appropriate 
time  when  the  conference  and  union  conference  presidents  or  the 
general  worker  attending  the  meeting,  who  may  desire  to  meet  the 
young  people,  can  be  present.  But  aside  from  this,  let  an  orderly 
and  constructive  program  be  carried  out,,  each  day  enforcing  the 
lessons  of  the  preceding  day,  and  presenting  advanced  knowledge 
and  helpful  instruction. 

12.  The  Juniors 

There  is  no  more  important  or  fruitful  field  in  all  our  camp  meeting 
efforts  than  that  furnished  by  the  Juniors.  I  believe  the  best  results 
will  be  obtained  by  a  separate  meeting  each  day  with  the  youth  in 
early  adolescence  —  twelve  to  sixteen  years  of  age  inclusive.  At  one 
meeting  last  year  we  had  seventy-eight  in  this  class.  Of  this  number 
about  thirty-five  were  church  members  and  forty-one  were  not. 

It  has  seemed  to  me  that  in  these  meetings  we  should  not  press 
spiritual  matters,  but  lead  up  to  them  through  practical  matters  fa¬ 
miliar  to  the  youth.  Since  this  is  the  time  of  life  when  habits  are  be¬ 
coming  fixed,  some  lessons  are  needed  on  habits,  good  and  bad,  their 
physiological  basis,  overcoming  or  correcting  wrong  habits,  establish¬ 
ing  right  habits  of  eating,  drinking,  conversation,  reading,  prayer,  etc. 
It  is  also  the  time  for  ideals;  and  earnest  lessons  on  high  ideals  and 
aims  in  life,  illustrated  from  the  lives  of  noble  and  heroic  men  and 
women,  are  excellent.  It  is  a  time  of  vacillation  and  instability, 
and  they  need  something  helpful  on  how  to  become  steadfast,  reliable, 
and  loyal  to  their  leader. 

The  youth  are  struggling  against  the  manifestation  of  traits  of 
disposition  which  they  do  not  understand.  Often  the  parents  do 
not  understand  or  know  how  to  sympathize  with  them.  When  it  is 
explained  to  them,  why  the  children  are  inclined  to  insubordination, 
self-conceit,  impatience,  vacillation,  etc.,  they  are  grateful,  and  often 
put  forth  heroic  and  even  pathetic  efforts  to  attain  the  true  ideals. 

Active  missionary  work  always  appeals  to  most  of  the  youth, 
and  such  efforts  are  a  help  to  establish  them  in  Christian  experience. 
Personal  evangelism,  work  with  literature,  self-denial,  and  faithful¬ 
ness  in  stewardship  may  all  be  so  presented  as  to  appeal  strongly  to 
Juniors.  All  these  lessons  may  be  closed  up  with  a  few  words  show¬ 
ing  the  connection  of  the  subject  with  spiritual  things  and  with  the 
parctical  Christian  life. 


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281 


Such  a  meeting  as  I  have  suggested  for  the  Juniors,  held  once  a 
day  on  the  camp  ground,  will  accomplish  much.  Visitors  younger  or 
older  should  not  be  encouraged  to  attend,  but  an  atmosphere  should 
be  maintained  which  will  secure  the  utmost  freedom  on  the  part  of 
the  Juniors,  and  enable  the  leaders  to  talk  in  the  intimate,  heart-to- 
heart  way  so  much  needed  and  appreciated  at  this  age.  Every  effort 
should  be  made  by  the  secretary  to  form  friendships  with  these  youth, 
which,  when  followed  up  by  correspondence  and  loving  interest  and 
prayers,  will  exert  a  profound  influence  to  steady  them  in  times  of 
temptation  and  discouragement. 

Conclusion 

In  concluding  I  would  add  this  final  observation,  that  I  think  we 
are  too  formal,  too  inclined  to  depend  upon  sermonizing  and  to  avoid 
becoming  personal  friends  with  every  one  of  the  young  people.  In  this 
we  have  wandered  from  our  Example.  Therefore  let  us  make  "the 
soul-winning  methods  of  Jesus  a  more  prayerful,  earnest  study,  and 
then  when  success  comes  the  glory  will  go  to  Him  to  whom  it  is  due. 

DISCUSSION 

M.  E.  Kern:  In  the  absence  of  Mrs.  R.  D.  Quinn,  Miss  Bates 
has  been  asked  to  supply  the  vacancy  in  opening  the  discussion. 
The  topic  is  “Preparing  for  Camp  Meeting.” 

Jennie  R.  Bates:  I  am  sure  we  should  have  a  model  camp 
meeting  if  the  principles  that  have  been  set  forth  were  carried  out. 
We  have  often  heard  that  the  reason  why  Germany  has  succeeded 
so  wonderfully  in  her  warfare  is  because  she  was  ready;  and  the  Lord 
says  we  are  to  be  ready.  If  all  these  things  are  accomplished  in  these 
camp  meetings,  it  must  be  that  preparation  has  previously  been  made. 

Perhaps  the  question  may  be  asked,  “When  shall  we  begin?” 
Surely  it  must  be  months  before  the  camp  meeting.  The  secretary 
must  be  in  close  touch  with  the  young  people.  Long  before  the 
meeting  she  has  been  writing  them  and  urging  them  to  come.  Often 
she  can  make  suggestions  that  will  enable  them  to  overcome  difficul¬ 
ties  standing  in  the  way.  Sometimes  the  secretary  can  help  in  ar¬ 
ranging  for  accommodations  for  the  young  people,  and  so  many  can 
come  who  could  not  if  they  had  waited  until  the  time  of  the  camp 
meeting  before  beginning  to  plan. 

Camp  meeting  time  is  harvest  time  for  the  secretary.  Often 
only  once  or  twice  has  she  met  with  each  one  personally  through  the 
year.  For  that  reason,  every  possible  preliminary  should  have  been 
done  before  coming  to  the  meeting.  She  should  send  a  personal  letter 
to  each  one,  urging  him  to  come.  The  cooperation  of  the  conference 


282 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


president  should  be  solicited  in  this  work  of  inviting  the  young  people 
to  attend. 

The  selecting  and  packing  of  books,  of  all  Missionary  Volunteer 
supplies,  and  other  things  of  that  kind  should  be  done  a  little  in  ad¬ 
vance.  Often  we  come  up  to  the  opening  of  the  camp  meeting  so 
tired  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  do  the  things  we  wanted  to  do. 
I  think  the  secretary  should  be  on  the  ground  at  least  two  days  before 
the  time  of  the  meeting.  If  she  is  there  and  her  tent  is  fixed  up 
satisfactorily,  it  is  generally  possible  to  have  everything  in  readiness 
before  the  meeting  begins. 

During  the  camp  meeting,  the  secretary  should  belong  entirely 
to  the  young  people.  There  is  no  time  for  anything  else.  It  is  the 
only  time  that  we  have  to  get  in  such  close  touch  with  our  young 
people. 

We  also  make  much  of  the  Reading  Course.  The  secretary 
should  have  read  the  books  in  the  course.  If  she  is  able  to  tell  about 
the  books,  the  young  people  will  often  go  out  and  solicit  their  parents 
for  the  books.  It  is  hardly  possible  to  do  this  unless  the  secretary 
has  read  them  herself. 

We  have  found  that  the  prayer  bands  have  brought  the  best 
results  of  anything  connected  with  our  work.  Before  the  meeting 
begins,  the  most  reliable  young  people  should  be  written  to,  and  asked 
if  they  will  take  the  responsibility  of  conducting  a  prayer  band.  They 
will  then  begin  to*  pray  for  the  success  of  the  meeting,  and  when  the 
time  comes  to  form  the  prayer  bands,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  ask 
for  volunteers  to  conduct  them. 

The  picture  of  our  academy  should  have  a  prominent  place  in 
the  tent.  We  have  followed  that  plan,  and  it  has  been  very  success¬ 
ful.  One  girl  said  to  me,  “  I  wish  you  would  take  the  picture  down. 
It  makes  me  want  to  go  so  much,  and  I  am  afraid  I  cannot  this  year.” 
The  Missionary  Volunteer  work  is  so  closely  affiliated  with  the  edu¬ 
cational  work  that  it  is  impossible  to  find  the  dividing  line. 

The  few  days  that  we  are  engaged  in  the  camp  meeting  work  are 
golden  moments.  One  important  thing  to  be  accomplished  for  the 
young  people  is  to  lead  them  to  feel  that  the  secretary  is  their  friend. 
There  is  nothing  so  encouraging  as  to  have  them  come  to  us  with 
their  joys,  their  perplexities,  their  questions.  How  can  we  get  this 
result  if  we  are  overburdened  with  duties  that  should  have  been 
attended  to  before  the  beginning  of  the  meeting?  Let  everything 
possible  be  done  beforehand.  I  believe  it  would  work  less  harm  to 
make  too  many  plans  than  to  leave  too  much  unplanned  for. 

We  should  have  a  tent  all  ready  where  we  can  welcome  the  young 
people  individually,  and  place  ourselves  at  their  disposal.  I  thought 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


283 


of  this  when  Professor  Irwin  said  he  turned  over  the  keys  to  this 
assembly.  I  believe  that  when  the  young  people’s  secretary  goes  to 
the  camp  fneeting,  she  should  really  do  that  for  her  young  people. 

M.  E.  Kern:  Brother  Russell  is  scheduled  to  speak  on  “The 
Camp  Meeting  a  School  of  Missionary  Volunteer  Methods.” 

C.  A.  Russell:  It  has  been  stated  by  both  of  the  previous 
speakers  that  the  camp  meeting  is  really  the  harvest  time.  There  is 
no  better  time  to  place  before  the  young  people  the  special  phases  of 
our  Missionary  Volunteer  work.  It  is  the  time  when  we  should  be 
looking  about  and  trying  to  secure  the  interest  of  those  who  would 
make  good  leaders.  We  should  arrange  a  time  when  we  can  meet 
these  prospective  leaders,  and  go  over  with  them  the  various  plans  of 
work.  We  could  outline  before  them  the  organized  work,  and  seek  to 
make  it  a  real  school  of  instruction  in  Missionary  Volunteer  methods. 
The  various  educational  features  of  our  work  should  be  greatly  em¬ 
phasized.  Those  of  our  young  people  who  are  in  attendance  should 
be  instructed  along  this  line. 

I  believe  the  Morning  Watch  should  be  emphasized.  The  young 
people  should  be  encouraged  to  learn  the  verses,  and  to  observe  the 
Morning  Watch  in  the  real  spirit  of  it. 

Then  the  Standard  of  Attainment  should  be  placed  before  the 
young  people  at  some  meeting  in  a  very  definite  and  tangible  way. 
After  presenting  the  importance  of  the  Standard  of  Attainment  in  a 
brief,  enthusiastic  way,  a  definite  enrollment  should  be  secured,  and 
the  names  should  be  turned  over  to  the  conference  educational  secre¬ 
tary.  Correspondence  should  be  taken  up  with  the  members,  and  they 
should  be  encouraged  to  take  up  the  Standard  of  Attainment.  The 
Standard  of  Attainment  membership  has  been  doubled  many  times 
in  our  conference  by  this  method.  Some  years  ago  we  had  sixteen; 
now  we  have  something  like  one  hundred. 

We  are  very  fortunate  to  have  located  in  our  union  the  one  who 
has  charge  of  the  western  branch  of  the  Review  and  Herald,  Brother 
J.  W.  Mace.  Brother  Mace  visits  all  the  camp  meetings,  primarily, 
of  course,  in  the  interests  of  the  book  work,  but  I  believe  he  has  no 
mercenary  motive  in  working  for  the  Reading  Courses  that  the  De¬ 
partment  has  outlined.  We  set  aside  an  hour  for  the  Reading  Courses 
to  be  presented  to  our  young  people.  Then  Brother  Mace  brings 
the  books.  He  has  already  read  them.  He  gives  a  little  plan  of  each 
book,  what  it  covers,  and  then  takes  orders  right  there  on  the  spot. 
We  have  never  failed  to  secure  a  large  number  of  orders  from  the  young 
people  themselves.  They  can  get  the  books  right  there  at  that 
meeting  or  at  the  bookstand. 


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Then  I  believe  we  should  take  up  other  parts  of  our  work,  especially 
the  King’s  Pocket  League.  At  one  of  our  camp  meetings  we  secured 
one  hundred  and  seventeen  new  members  for  the  King’s  Pocket 
League.  After  having  awakened  an  interest  on  the  part  of  the  young 
people  we  handed  out  the  membership  blanks,  and  had  them  sign 
them.  We  have  made  up  packages  of  suitable  leaflets,  and  have 
encouraged  them  to  begin  the  circulation  of  tracts  right  then. 

M.  E.  Kern:  I  am  sure  that  if  Brother  Russell  could  have  had 
more  time  he  would  have  emphasized  one  other  point,  the  work  of 
making  the  camp  meeting  a  school  of  methods  and  personal  work. 

Grace  Davison:  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  camp  meeting 
is  the  harvest  time  of  the  year  for  the  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary, 
but  it  might  as  truly  be  called  the  beginning  of  the  year.  If  the  work 
that  is  begun  at  the  camp  meeting  is  not  followed  up,  it  really  has  been 
done  in  vain. 

First,  is  to  follow  up  the  young  people  who  have  made  a  new 
surrender  to  the  Lord.  We  know  that  the  way  to  life  is  by  service, 
and  we  can  from  time  to  time  suggest  new  ways  that  they  can  be  a 
blessing  to  those  about  them,  and  thus  grow  spiritually. 

Then  we  should  encourage  the  young  people  who  have  pledged 
themselves  for  the  Standard  of  Attainment  or  any  of  these  educational 
features,  to  persevere  in  this  work.  It  is  easy  for  them  to  come  to 
camp  meeting  and  pledge  themselves  to  do  something,  then  go  away 
and  forget  their  pledge.  So  we  must  remind  them  from  time  to  time 
that  they  have  signed  a  pledge  to  do  this  work,  and  then  suggest 
ways  and  means  to  attain  what  they  have  started  to  reach. 

Then,  too,  there  are  the  young  people  who  have  not  surrendered 
to  the  Lord.  I  believe  that  those  who  have  should  be  formed  into 
a  prayer  band  to  remember  the  unconverted  especially  in  their  prayers 
as  they  go  to  their  homes.  We  should  encourage  them  to  come  in 
personal  touch  with  these  young  people,  and  we  should  be  in  touch 
with  them,  and  make  it  an  aim  in  our  work  to  win  them  to  Christ  as 
soon  as  possible. 

It  has  also  been  suggested  that  the  young  people,  as  a  part  of 
their  recreation,  be  encouraged  to  go  out  among  the  people  around 
the  camp  ground  and  invite  them  in  to  the  meetings.  This  was  tried 
very  successfully  at  our  last  camp  meeting.  Old  and  young  took 
with  them  tracts  and  invitation  cards,  and  went  out  into  the  city, 
and  they  had  some  very  good  experiences.  They  were  encouraged 
to  rap  at  the  door,  and  to  give  a  personal  invitation  as  well  as  a  card. 
Each  morning  after  we  did  this  (twice  during  the  meeting),  old  and 
young  met  together  in  the  large  tent,  and  I  am  sure  you  would  have 
enjoyed  the  experience  meeting  we  had. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


285 


As  to  the  prayer  and  personal  workers’  bands,  I  am  sure  that  the 
young  people  who  get  the  most  out  of  the  camp  meeting  are  those 
who  carry  a  burden  for  those  about  them,  and  it  is  certainly  an  in¬ 
spiration  to  the  older  ones  who  look  on.  Two  years  ago  the  older 
people  began  to  follow  this  plan.  They  had  their  prayer  bands, 
and  began  to  work  for  the  older  ones  who  needed  a  Christian  expe¬ 
rience.  In  this  the  young  people  were  leaders. 


HOW  SHALL  WE  PROMOTE  THE  EDUCATIONAL 
FEATURES  OF  THE  MISSIONARY 
VOLUNTEER  WORK? 

N.  W.  LAWRENCE 

The  words  of  our  Lord,  “  Gather  up  the  fragments  that  remain, 
that  nothing  be  lost,”  enunciate  a  great  principle,  which,  if  of  impor¬ 
tance  in  the  temporal  affairs  of  this  life,  becomes  a  hundredfold  more 
important  in  the  affairs  of  the  eternal  kingdom.  We  have  come  upon 
the  very  ends  of  time.  The  Lord  is  bringing  into  line  every  element, 
every  available  talent,  every  resource  in  his  church,  and  is  preparing 
it  for  use  in  the  last  great  effort  for  the  salvation  of  the  world.  Our 
purpose  in  the  Missionary  Volunteer  movement  —  to  gather  up  the 
scattering  energies  and  resources  of  all  our  youth,  to  educate  and  train 
them  for  service  in  the  finishing  work  of  the  gospel  —  is  a  tremendous 
application  of  that  great  principle. 

In  this  age  of  tension  and  complexity,  only  things  of  superimpor¬ 
tance  are  sure  to  receive  attention.  Especially  is  this  so  when  ex¬ 
penditure  of  time,  effort,  or  money  is  involved.  Since  the  working 
out  of  the  educational  features  of  this  Department  involves  all  these 
on  the  part  of  our  youth,  something  more  is  required  in  reaching  the 
desired  goal  than  mere  conference  machinery,  friendly  advice,  or 
filial  demands.  At  least  as  much  studied  care  should  be  given  to 
this  work  as  is  given  the  common  business  of  the  world. 

General  Principles 

Cooperation. —  Experience  in  the  field  has  persuaded  me  that 
success  in  this  work  depends  largely  upon  the  rank  and  file  of  our 
people  to  appreciate  the  grand  purpose  and  the  great  importance  of 
the  Missionary  Volunteer  movement  itself.  The  cooperation  of 
parents,  school  and  church  officers,  and  conference  laborers  and  officers 
must  be  won  and  utilized  in  order  to  reach  effectually  all  our  young 
people. 


28G 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Time  and  effort  must  be  systematically  given  for  studying  the 
various  features  of  this  work  with  the  church  companies  as  a  whole, 
besides  special  instruction  with  and  for  the  young  people  themselves. 
Without  this  preparatory  work  for  the  masses,  all  the  plans,  devices, 
and  machinery  we  can  invent  will  fail;  but  with  thorough  preliminary 
work,  at  least  a  degree  of  reasonable  success  is  assured. 

Registration. —  A  complete  system  of  registration,  classification, 
and  follow-up  work  especially,  will  do  much  in  securing  an  interest 
and  maintaining  a  positive  and  working  connection  with  our  youth 
until  definite  results  can  be  accomplished. 

Business  Tact. —  Some  of  the  laws  and  principles  of  salesmanship, 
if  intelligently  applied,  will  very  materially  strengthen  efforts  put 
forth  here,  as  in  the  monetary  world.  In  salesmanship,  first  effort  is 
made  to  gain  attention,  to  arouse  interest;  with  this  secured,  a  desire 
to  possess  is  created;  then,  by  tactful  suggestion  of  ways  and  means, 
the  matter  is  clinched  without  delay.  Thus  it  will  be  in  gaining 
names  for  the  Reading  Courses,  the  Standard  of  Attainment,  and 
other  lines  of  our  educational  work. 

Educational  Features 

Generally  speaking,  the  educational  features  consist  of  those  means 
used  which  are  intended  to  bring  the  individual  into  line  with  the  mes¬ 
sage  and  fit  him  for  his  part  as  a  personal  worker  for  souls;  as,  Leaf¬ 
let  Series,  Reading  Courses,  Standard  of  Attainment,  periodicals  and 
society  lessons,  libraries,  institutes  and  camp  meetings. 

Leaflets.--  As  indicated  before,  the  young  people  themselves  are 
to  be  won  to,  and  enlisted  in,  this  great  purpose  of  finishing  the  gospel 
message  in  this  generation  Little  things  more  often  turn  the  tide 
of  a  life  than  do  great  things.  Small  tracts  and  leaflets  have  done 
a  work  in  this  message  for  the  outside  world  that  eternity  alone  can 
measure.  So  in  the  hands  of  the  consecrated  worker,  our  Missionary 
Volunteer  leaflets  may  do  for  the  youth  what  the  ‘‘Apples  of  Gold,’’ 
the  “Bible  Students’  Library,”  and  others  are  doing  for  the  adult. 

With  this  series  enlarged  and  strengthened  by  the  addition  of 
a  few  brief  but  pointed  numbers  of  from  four  to  eight  pages  each, 
on  such  topics  as,  W  hy  be  a  Christian?  How  to  Become  a  Christian, 
First  Steps  Toward  Church  Membership,  Hindrances  to  Perfection, 
How  to  Overcome,  Problems  of  Youth  Solved  by  the  Gospel,  etc., 
many  unspoken  questions  of  the  unconverted  may  be  answered,  and 
interest  directed  to  the  things  of  God. 

W  hile  this  is  an  age  of  reading,  such  as  probably  has  been  un¬ 
equaled  in  the  past,  yet  but  few'  young  people  choose  to  read  volumes 
of  serious,  solid  matter.  Even  the  more  stable  and  dependable  youth 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


287 


turn  from  the  larger  books,  the  longer  articles,  to  the  brief,  terse 
matter  of  every  class.  The  intensity  of  the  age  has  emphasized  this 
tendency.  Much  must  be  accomplished  quickly.  Condensed  in¬ 
formation,  such  as  summaries,  tables,  books  of  ready  reference,  etc., 
is  eagerly  sought.  Even  the  headlines  of  newspapers  and  magazines, 
tables  of  contents  of  larger  works,  are  scanned  for  just  the  seed- 
thought  or  suggestion  of  value  they  may  contain. 

Such  is  the  condition  and  such  the  habit  we  have  to  reckon  with 
in  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work.  Hence  the  necessity  of  a  good 
variety  of  brief,  usable  leaflets,  and  of  the  cooperation  of  active,  loyal 
people  in  their  distribution. 

Reading  Courses. —  As  with  the  leaflets,  the  Reading  Courses 
should  be  made  a  means  of  reaching  out  after  the  unconverted,  as 
well  as  a  means  of  strengthening  those  already  in  line  with  the  mes¬ 
sage.  Let  us  not  for  a  moment  forget  that,  all  our  young  people  are 
to  be  considered  in  this  movement;  that  its  purpose  is  to  win  them  all 
from  the  ways  and  love  of  the  world,  and  link  them  in  some  way  to 
the  great  organized  work  of  this  truth. 

Keeping  in  mind  the  conditions  mentioned  above,  let  us  provide 
the  young  and  the  unconverted  with  small  books,  full  of  life  and 
the  spirit  of  Christian  service,  reserving  the  heavier  texts  for  more 
deliberate  study  after  the  die  for  life  has  been  fully  set  and  its  impress 
made  sure. 

Much  has  already  been  accomplished  through  the  Reading  Courses, 
but  here  again  about  the  strongest  assurance  of  success  is  an  under¬ 
standing  and  sympathetic  cooperation  on  the  part  of  parents,  friends, 
and  leaders  in  the  local  church  work.  To  push  this  work  against 
either  the  indifference  or  the  opposition  of  the  men  and  women  of 
responsibility,  is  much  like  battling  against  the  walls  of  Gibraltar. 
Consequently,  time  and  effort  spent  in  gaining  this  cooperation  will 
bear  fruit  a  hundredfold.  Therefore,  study  the  young  people’s 
work  with  the  whole  church,  and  do  it  often. 

Standard  of  Attainment. —  Having  once  place!  his  feet  in  the 
Christian  pathway,  every  traveler,  for  his  own  sake  first,  needs  the 
experience  and  knowledge  offered  through  the  study  for  the  Standard 
of  Attainment.  “Then  said  Jesus  to  those  Jews  which  believed  on 
him,  If  ye  continue  in  my  word,  then  are  ye  my  disciples  indeed; 
and  ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free.’’ 

Then,  there  is  the  work  these  young  people  may  do  as  they  them¬ 
selves  grow.  Others  are  to  be  won  to  Christ,  to  be  started  on  the 
highway  to  God  and  to  eternal  life.  With  the  zeal  of  youth,  with 
the  love  of  God  and  of  men  in  the  heart,  with  a  knowledge  of  the  truth, 
and  with  faith  in  the  advent  message,  these  boys  and  girls  are  to  be- 


288 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


come  ‘'the  Lord’s  helping  hand”  in  carrying  light  and  life  to  the 
world.  In  all  this  they  need,  early  in  their  course,  the  knowledge  and 
experience  to  be  gained  in  qualifying  for  the  Standard  of  Attainment. 

As  in  the  preceding  lines,  the  sympathy,  cooperation,  and  example 
of  workers,  older  church  members,  and  conference  officers  lend  in¬ 
fluence,  and  count  much  in  promoting  this  part  of  the  educational  work. 
Perhaps  the  most  successful  means  of  furthering  this  line  is  the  organ¬ 
ized  class,  consisting  of  youth,  church  members,  Sabbath  school 
teachers,  and  others,  meeting  regularly  once  a  week  or  oftener  for  the 
study  of  Bible  doctrines  and  the  history  of  this  message.  I  have 
observed  that  where  this  is  done,  both  the  church  work  and  the  interests 
of  the  young  people  are  quickened. 

Educational  Credits. —  I  have  wished  that  some  workable  system 
of  school  credits  might  be  devised  and  adopted  to  apply  to  both  the 
Reading  Courses  and  the  Standard  of  Attainment.  More  would  find 
time  to  pursue  these  lines  of  study,  and  a  better  grade  of  work  could 
be  secured,  if  definite  credit  on  school  courses  could  be  assured.  It 
would  afford  one  more  point  of  contact,  and  become  a  means  of  reach¬ 
ing  some  who  are  now  hard  to  reach  with  the  various  lines  of  Mission-^ 
ary  Volunteer  activity. 

Periodicals  and  Society  Lessons. —  Some  medium  of  communication 
is  necessary  in  any  enterprise  covering  a  wide  territory.  The  Youth's 
Instructor  has  very  naturally  and  properly  been  chosen  as  the  medium 
for  the  young  people’s  work.  T  shall  present  no  suggestion  here  for 
the  promotion  of  this  journal.  But  since  the  Church  Officers'  Gazette 
has  come  into  the  field,  and  has  taken  on  a  portion  of  the  Missionary 
Volunteer  matter,  and  though  the  matter  it  has  contained  has  aided 
much  in  the  conduct  of  the  work,  I  have  wished  that  one  periodical 
might  serve  the  purposes  of  both. 

I  heartily  approve  the  universal  use  of  the  society  lessons,  and 
believe  that  anything  we  can  do  to  simplify  the  machinery  necessary 
in  getting  these  lessons  into  the  hands  and  hearts  of  our  young  people, 
will  aid  just  that  much  in  accomplishing  this  end. 

Libraries. —  The  work  of  the  Reading  Courses  and  of  the  Standard 
of  Attainment  should  contribute  much  in  the  building  of  libraries. 
The  ideal  —  that  each  Missionary  Volunteer  should  have  a  working 
library  of  his  own  —  may  never  be  realized;  but  when  our  young 
people  are  taught  the  value  of  systematically  marking  the  books 
they  read  so  that  they  become  to  them  valuable  books  of  reference, 
from  which  to  draw  for  future  use,  individual  libraries  will  become 
the  rule  rather  than  the  exception. 

For  the  sake  of  those  of  limited  means,  and  of  others  whose  cir¬ 
cumstances  hinder  the  making  of  a  personal  library,  the  local  society 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


289 


library  becomes  a  necessity.  This  may  be  a  section  of  the  church 
library,  or  it  may  be  a  separate  Missionary  Volunteer  library,  as 
conditions  may  indicate.  To  promote  such  an  enterprise,  popular 
sentiment  should  be  enlisted;  for  here,  as  in  the  former  lines,  coop¬ 
eration  means  success. 

In  laying  the  foundation  for  such  a  library,  at  least  a  full  set  of 
the  current  Reading  Course  texts  may  be  provided  by  donation,  or 
by  popular  subscription.  To  these  may  be  added  our  standard 
denominational  books  by  direct  solicitation.  Various  plans  may  be 
used  in  building  up  the  local  society  library. 

A  conference  library  is  of  special  importance  to  the  Missionary 
Volunteer  secretary,  who  should  have  ready  access  to  all  the  books 
and  literature  used  in  the  society  work.  Other  books  should  be  pro¬ 
vided  for  this  library,  so  that  a  wider  range  of  reading  may  be  made 
possible  for  the  one  who  must  lead  out  in  the  various  lines  of  missionary 
endeavor. 

Other  conference  workers  find  it  a  convenience,  when  spending  a 
few  hours  at  the  office,  to  utilize  this  library.  This  in  turn  keeps 
them  in  touch  with  the  Young  People’s  Department  and  work,  and 
as  they  go  out  among  the  people,  they  lend  their  influence  for  the 
same  good  cause.  It  would  be  well  if  every  conference  office  con¬ 
tained  a  good  workable  library  for  the  use  of  its  workers  and  employees, 
with  a  well-equipped  young  people’s  section  in  it. 

Institutes  and  Camp  Meetings. —  Of  all  means  for  promoting  the 
educational  features  of  this  Department,  none  afford  greater  pos¬ 
sibilities  than  institutes  and  camp  meetings.  But  since  these  are 
given  special  place  on  the  program,  I  shall  refer  to  them  but  briefly 
here.  The  institute  held  with  the  local  church,  or  with  a  delegation 
from  several  neighboring  churches,  affords  the  best  opportunity  to 
interest  the  body  of  believers,  young  and  old,  to  present  in  detail  the 
various  features  of  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work  and  movement, 
to  inaugurate  right  methods,  to  do  personal  work  for  souls,  and  to 
enlist  the  cooperation  of  all  in  the  work. 

Wherever  conditions  and  time  will  allow,  the  conference  Mission¬ 
ary  Volunteer  secretary  can  do  no  more  telling  work  for  his  Depart¬ 
ment  than  to  conduct  live,  enthusiastic,  instructive  institutes.  Re¬ 
member  that  the  sympathy  and  cooperation  of  the  church  body  is  a 
positive  necessity  for  the  best  results.  Therefore  encourage  all  to 
attend  every  meeting.  By  so  doing  they,  too,  become  familiar  with 
the  plans,  purposes,  and  methods;  they  catch  the  spirit  of  work,  and 
many  times  the  spirit  of  reconsecration  and  devotion  to  the  cause  and 
work  of  soul-saving,  which  is  the  aim  and  end  of  all  this  young  people’s 
movement. 


19 


290 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


The  camp  meeting  may  in  reality  be  considered  an  institute  on  a  • 
larger  scale,  affording  broader  opportunities  for  reaching  the  masses, 
but  of  course,  limited  in  its  possibilities  for  detailed  instruction  in  the 
various  features  of  training  and  work.  The  greater  opportunities, 
however,  should  be  made  to  serve  as  fully  as  possible.  Definite  and 
carefully  laid  plans  as  definitely  and  carefully  worked  out,  will  greatly 
promote  the  young  people’s  work  throughout  the  conferences.  Op¬ 
portunity  should  be  given  for  a  careful  presentation  of  the  Missionary 
Volunteer  plans  and  work  before  the  great  congregation,  as  well  as  in 
the  meetings  specially  designed  for  the  youth. 

Conclusion 

Because  of  the  comprehensive  scope  of  my  subject,  I  have  been 
able  to  touch  only  a  few  of  the  many  means  of  promoting  the  educa¬ 
tional  features  of  this  Department;  and  of  these,  only  those  of  more 
general  application,  leaving  to  those  who  follow  in  discussion  to 
emphasize  specific  and  detailed  suggestions  for  furthering  this  work. 
By  way  of  emphasis.  I  wish  to  recall  a  few  principles. 

People  are  not  likely  to  give  their  support  to  a  cause  or  move¬ 
ment  they  know  but  little  or  nothing  of;  therefore, — 

1.  Educate  the  masses.  Parents,  workers,  and  leaders  of  all  classes 
will  be  greatly  aided  in  their  wrork  for  the  young  by  observing  the 
great  principle,  “It  is  not  so  much  what  we  do  for  our  children  and 
youth,  as  what  we  do  with  them.”  Once  this  is  appreciated  and 
obeyed,  success  is  assured.  Therefore, — 

2.  Work  for  cooperation,  since  only  by  keeping  in  touch  with  our 
youth  can  a  constant  influence  be  exerted  to  give  direction  to  their 
desires  and  efforts. 

3.  Make  good  use  of  indexes  of  registration  and  of  follow-up  plans. 
Many  of  our  young  people  will  not  realize  their  need  of  these  educa¬ 
tional  advantages  until  they  are  brought  to  them  by  those  who  do 
know  and  appreciate  them.  Their  interest,  desire,  and  determination 
to  obtain  must  be  built  up  by  personal  contact  with  others.  Then, — 

4.  Use  the  care  and  tact  of  common  business  in  developing  mem¬ 
bers  for  the  Reading  Courses,  Standard  of  Attainment,  etc.  Much 
has  already  been  accomplished,  but  much  remains  to  be  done.  We 
shall  need  bountiful  supplies  of  the  grace  of  God,  of  the  wdsdom  of 
heaven,  and  of  that  perseverance  that  knows  no  defeat,  to  obtain  our 
goal, —  the  winning  of  all  our  young  people  to  God,  and  the  turn¬ 
ing  of  their  life  energies  into  channels  of  missionary  endeavor. 

As  with  other  things  of  importance,  eternal  vigilance  is  the  price 
of  success.  The  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary  w'ho  prosecutes  his 
work  largely  in  the  field,  working  with  the  church,  with  the  family, 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


291 


with  the  individual,  and  keeps  constantly  at  it,  will  be  rewarded  by 
seeing  our  youth  preserved  to  the  cause  of  this  message,  and  by  hear¬ 
ing,  later  the  welcome  “Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant. 
.  .  enter  thou. into  the  jov  of  thy  Lord.” 

DISCUSSION 

Almetta  B.  Garrett:  Our  young  people  as  a  general  rule  seem 
to  select  reading  that  is  light,  something  to  which  they  do  not  have  to 
give  muchftime  or  thought.  And  I  think  it  is  the  duty  of  every 
Missionary  Volunteer  secretary  to  emphasize  the  fact  to  our  young 
people  that  they  need  to  employ  their  leisure  time  in  good,  solid 
reading. 

I  remember  at  one  of  our  camp  meetings  I  was  given  permission  to 
have  two  reading  tents.  1  borrowed  books,  besides  buying  a  few, 
till  I  obtained  sixty  or  seventy  books  for  the  tent  library.  For  a  few 
days  these  tents  stood  empty,  although  announcement  was  made. 
The  young  people  seemed  to  be  at  the  meeting  only  for  a  good  time. 
So  I  had  to  go  out  after  them.  I  went  to  different  tents  and  talked 
with  them,  and  at  length  they  became  interested.  These  told  others, 
and  in  that  way  our  reading  tents  became  pretty  well  patronized. 

The  reading  tent  is  a  wonderful  help  in  keeping  our  young  people 
employed  on  the  camp  ground.  Y\  hen  a  capable  person  oversees  it, 
I  think  it  is  a  help  educationally.  There  the  young  people  learn  to 
like  the  reading,  and  when  our  Reading  Courses  are  mentioned  by 
those  at  the  head  of  the  young  people’s  work,  they  are  more  ready 
to  buy  the  books.  They  have  made  a  start. 

In  one  of  our  schools  in - is  a  boy  about  twelve  years  old 

who  is  a  great  reader.  His  mother  is  an  educated  woman,  and  she 
has  encouraged  and  directed  his  reading.  He  goes  by  himself  to  the 
library  and  selects  his  books,  and  he  never  brings  home  a  bad  book. 
He  chooses  books  of  missionary  biography,  and  books  along  the  line 
of  those  in  the  Reading  Course. 

We  are  working  up  the  Reading  Course  in  our  schools.  The 
teachers  who  take  the  Reading  Course  books  read  them  to  the  children 
in  the  morning.  And  in  some  intermediate  schools,  after  reading  one 
of  the  books,  the  children  give  the  content  in  their  own  words.  It  is 
not  only  instructive,  but  it  gives  language  drill  besides.  That  is  the 
way  this  small  boy  beca '  e  interested  in  reading. 

It  is  worth  while  for  us  to  endeavor  to  get  good,  solid  reading 
before  our  young  people.  Not  only  our  young  people,  but  our  older 
people  need  it.  If  sixty  per  cent  of  our  people  have  come  into  this 
message  by  reading,  there  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  still  read  to 
keep  up  with  the  times  in  our  message. 


292  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 

I  think  every  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary  ought  to  do  what 
she  requires  of  those  under  her  charge.  The  only  way  we  can  ever 
accomplish  our  work  is  to  set  the  example.  We  should  also  read 
other  books.  I  have  made  it  a  practice  to  read  one  good  book  every 
month.  The  only  way  I  can  keep  up  with  my  work  is  to  read  some¬ 
thing  on  that  work.  I  am  pleased  to  know  that  our  church  schools 
all  over  the  State  are  taking  up  this  Reading  Course. 

M.  E.  Cady:  I  think  the  Standard  of  Attainment  work  is  ex¬ 
cellent,  and  I  have  been  pleased  to  see  our  young  people  taking  hold 
of  it  with  real  enthusiasm  and  interest.  At  Fresno  not  long  ago  I 
presented  the  question,  and  I  think  that  more  than  half  signed  for 
it.  I  also  find  that  in  this  conference  the  older  people  are  glad  to 
join  with  the  young  people. 

To  me  the  term  “Standard  of  Attainment”  is  a  little  ambiguous. 
1  do  not  understand  just  what  it  means.  The  Standard  of  Attainment 
indicates  that  there  is  a  standard  to  which  the  students  are  to  attain. 
Now  we  have  not,  up  to  the  present,  attained  to  a  standard  that  our 
schools  will  accept  with  respect  to  the  work  done.  Most  of  our  schools 
do  not  feel  like  accepting  the  work  in  Bible  doctrines  and  denomi¬ 
national  history,  even  after  the  certificate  is  issued.  I  wish  we  could 
reach  a  standard  of  attainment  that  they  would  gladly  accept.  I 
think  it  would  be  an  encourage  nent  to  our  young  people,  and  mor 
would  take  it. 

I  have  wondered  if  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Department  could 
enter  into  a  copartnership  plan  with  the  Educational  Department, 
so  that  this  educational  feature,  the  Standard  of  Attainment,  rec¬ 
ognizing  the  study  of  Bible  doctrines  and  denominational  history, 
could  be  conducted  by  the  Fireside  Correspondence  School.  Then 
those  who  desire  to  receive  credit  on  Standard  .of  Attainment  subjects 
in  our  schools  could  carry  them  on  in  that  way,  and  those  who  do 
not  desire  to  follow  them  so  diligently  and  continuously,  would  still 
remain  under  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Department. 

I  know  it  is  very  disappointing  and  discouraging  to  our  young 
people  to  have  studied  very  diligently,  or  as  well  as  they  could  under 
the  present  arrangement,  then  pass  the  examination,  receive  the 
certificate  from  the  young  people’s  secretary,  and  then  have  it  turned 
down  when  presented  to  the  school.  Perhaps  some  work  could  be 
required  additional  to  that  which  the  Department  would  normally 
expect  for  the  issuance  of  the  certificate.  I  understand  that  this 
certifies  that  the  young  men  and  women  who  have  done  this  work, 
are  informed  and  are  up  to  date  with  reference  to  the  doctrines  and 
history  of  the  Seventh-day  Adventist  work.  I  think  it  ought  to  mean 
that,  and  if  so,  why  should  it  not  be  accepted  in  our  schools? 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


2DU 

Varner  Johns:  I  might  say,  like  Professor  Cady,  that  I  con¬ 
sider  the  Standard  of  Attainment  the  ost  effectual  plan  that  we 
have  in  our  Missionary  Volunteer  work.  There  is  nothing  that 
develops  in  the  young  people  such  a  desire  to  become  more  efficient 
in  soul-winning,  as  the  Standard  of  Attainment.  I  like  the  name. 
“Standard  of  Attain  ent.”  It  appeals  to  me. 

On  the  other  hand,  no  matter  how  effective  it  ay  be,  no  matter 
how  enthusiastic  the  young  people  ay  become,  we  cannot  produce 
results  unless  we  work  with  the  leaders.  The  local  leaders  can  either 
bring  the  Standard  of  Attainment  question  up  where  it  belongs,  or 
ruin  it. 

After  our  March  examinations  two  years  ago,  we  published  a 
little  two-page  paper.  We  called  it  the  Colorado  Missionary  T  olunteer 
Advance.  In  this  paper  we  emphasized  the  Standard  of  Attainment, 
and  gave  the  names  of  those  who  had  passed  the  March  examination. 
This  little  paper  appealed  to  the  young  people  more  than  anything 
else  in  the  conference.  They  liked  to  see  their  names  in  print.  We 
had  about  sixty  names  in  the  paper  that  we  printed  after  the  last 
March  examination. 

Another  plan  which  was  tried  by  one  society  after  the  March  exam¬ 
ination,  was  to  give  a  Standard  of  Attainment  program  during  a 
regular  church  service. 

I  like  the  idea  of  giving  credit,  and  think  we  would  be  more  suc¬ 
cessful  if  we  did.  The  correspondence  school  idea  is  also  very  good. 

M.  E.  Kern:  The  question  of  libraries  will  be  discussed  by 
Miss  Bates. 

Jennie  R.  Bates:  As  some  phases  of  this  question  have  been 
spoken  of,  I  shall  speak  of  only  one  phase,  and  that  is  the  cir¬ 
culating  library. 

I  am  glad  for  the  good  books  which  have  come  to  our  young  people 
through  the  Reading  Course.  My  first  thought  in  regard  to  the  cir¬ 
culating  library  came  to  me  at  one  of  our  camp  meetings,  where  we 
had  an  exhibition  of  some  of  our  books.  A  young  girl  wrho  stood 
looking  at  them  said :  “Oh,  how  I  wish  I  could  read  every  one  of  them  !” 
We  started  to  do  something  right  away. 

First  the  question  arose,  What  books  shall  we  use?  I  bought  all 
the  books  for  myself  as  they  came,  but  I  thought  of  how  it  might  be 
with  the  one  who  should  follow  me,  so  from  that  time  on  the  books 
were  bought  by  the  conference.  We  started  a  circulating  library, 
and  in  addition  to  what  we  had,  I  went  to  the  tract  society  office  and 
found  quite  a  few  books  for  the  younger  ones,  which  were  added  to 
my  list. 


294  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 

First  of  all  we  pasted  in  each  of  the  books  a  slip  stating  that  it 
belonged  to  the  secretary.  Then  in  order  to  reach  all  the  young 
people,  I  first  took  some  of  the  lists  in  the  Reading  Course  leaflets, 
and  asked  them  to  mark  the  books  in  that  list  which  they  would  like 
to  read,  and  then  return  it  to  me.  We  finally  made  a  complete  list 
of  the  books  we  had,  and  these  were  sent  out  to  the  young  people. 
When  they  requested  books,  we  sent  them  postage  paid,  and  we 
told  them  that  we  would  pay  the  return  postage  also,  although  it 
was  not  often  necessary.  W  e  found  that  several  persons  were  reading 
each  of  the  books,  and  for  this  we  were  very  thankful.  '  e  allowed 
them  a  month  in  which  to  read  one  book.  If  it  was  some  of  the  larger 
books,  as  “The  Desire  of  Ages,”  or  “The  Great  Controversy,”  we 
allowed  them  more  time,  if  they  asked  for  it. 

We  soon  found  that  others  wrere  willing  to  give  books,  and  so  our 
library  was  constantly  growing.  We  not  only  send  the  books  to  the 
young  people,  but  some  of  the  older  isolated  ones  have  also  read  them. 
These  books  are  sent  all  over  the  conference,  and  are  read  by  the 
young  people.  I  believe  that  the  Reading  Course  books  will  be  the 
means  of  creating  in  these  young  people  a  taste  for  good  reading, 
and  at  the  same  time  give  them  an  opportunity  to  enjoy  the  reading. 

M.  E.  Kern:  It  is  a  great  privilege  to  me  to  be  here,  and  it  is  a 
precious  thought  that  all  of  you  are  anxiously  looking  for  ideas  that 
will  help  you  to  save  our  young  people.  As  1  said  the  other  day, 
there  are  already  young  people  in  the  foreign  fields  wrho  attribute 
their  choice  of  that  line  of  work  to  our  Reading  Course.  Much  can 
be  said  of  the  Standard  of  Attainment,  of  this  excellent  wx>rk  that 
Sister  Bates  is  doing  in  Maine,  of  getting  these  good  books  into  the 
hands  of  even  the  isolated  young  people,  w-ho  have  very  lew'  oppor¬ 
tunities  of  coming  in  touch  with  our  people.  Let  us  discuss  the 
Reading  Course  for  a  few  moments.  I  should  like  to  ask  you  in  the 
field  whether  you  like  the  class  of  books  that  we  have  selected,  whether 
you  have  any  suggestions  as  to  a  different  procedure. 

L.  H.  Wood:  I  am  very  much  in  sympathy  with  the  idea  of  the 
Reading  Course.  There  is  only  one  question  yet  in  regard  to  it. 
There  is  a  class  of  young  people  who  read  whatever  we  outline  for 
them;  but  in  our  isolated  districts  there  are  very  few/  opportunities 
for  active  minds  to  get  the  kind  of  reading  they  wrant.  The  public 
libraries  today  do  not  furnish  the  kind  that  we  want.  Could  not  the 
Department,  having  access  to  the  Library  of  Congress  and  other 
good  libraries  in  Washington,  furnish  the  denomination  with  ^ists 
of  proper  books,  giving  the  publishers  and  cost?  That  would  b  e  of 
great  value  to  the  secretary.  These  young  people  are  asking  for 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


295 


further  reading  material,  and  I  am  sure  that  such  a  list  would  meet  a 
want  among  us. 

B.  B.  Davis:  I  should  like  to  suggest  that  this  list  be  graded. 
Along  with  the  name  of  the  book  let  the  age  of  the  boy  or  girl  appear 
to  whom  that  book  is  adapted,  and  also  the  grade  in  school.  Then 
it  would  be  of  use  also  to  our  church-school  teachers. 

M.  E.  Kern:  The  second  leaflet  which  we  published,  “From 
Which  Fountain?  ”  by  Miss  Erickson,  has  at  the  close  a  list  of  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  books  well  worth  reading.  We  also  have  recommended 
a  list  of  fifteen  books  as  a  nucleus  for  a  IV  issionary  Volunteer  library. 

E.  C.  Kellogg:  Our  workers  everywhere  are  reading  books, 
and  when  one  is  found  to  be  suitable  for  this  purpose,  it  would  be 
well  to  report  it  to  the  Department. 

M.  E.  Kern:  I  hope  you  all  heard  that.  We  are  hungry  for 
such  suggestions. 

J.  J.  Reiswig:  I  should  like  to  know  how  the  secretaries  found 
books  for  the  Juniors?  I  have  heard  some  criticism  fyom  some  of 
the  parents  that  the  books  for  the  Juniors  are  a  little  too  hard,  not 
too  hard  just  to  read,  but  to  get  the  thought  out  of.  There  is,  for 
instance,  one  book,  “Thoughts  from  the  Mount  of  Blessing.’’  That 
is  an  excellent  book,  but  some  of  the  boys  find  it  rather  dry.  They 
do  take  considerable  urging  and  working  with,  and  finally  they  wriggle 
through,  but  some  fall  out.  One  little  fellow  came  up  to  my  office 
and  I  said,  “Virgil,  how  are  you  getting  along?”  He  said,  “I  do  not 
like  this  book,  but  I  like  the  next  one.”  He  really  did  not  get  a 
great  deal  of  good  from  the  reading  of  the  book,  I  think.  Some  of 
the  parents  wrote  to  me  about  it,  and  asked  me  to  write  to  the  De¬ 
partment,  but  I  told  them  to  write  themselves.  I  should  like  to 
hear  how  some  of  the  others  feel. 

A.  N.  Atteberry:  It  may  be  true  that  some  oi  the  books  do 
not  appeal  as  much  as  others,  but  it  seems  to  me  an  excellent  idea  to 
sandwich  in  some  of  a  religious  nature.  I  should  like  to  say  a  good 
word  for  the  Reading  Course.  In  our  school  in  the  South  we  have 
formed  the  habit  of  providing  at  least  two  sets  of  books  of  both  the 
Senior  and  the  Junior  Reading  Course  books  for  the  school.  The 
students  club  together  and  buy  them  for  the  school  library.  1  have 
found  that  as  the  students  come  in  who  have  not  read  the  books  in 
the  past,  they  hunt  up  all  the  books  for  former  years  and  read  them. 
Our  books  are  getting  well  worn.  I  do  not  know  that  there  is  any 
choice  among  them. 

C.  E.  Stone:  There  has  been  a  question  in  my  mind  relative  to 
the  suggestion  of  Brother  Atteberry  about  what  we  shall  do  in  the 


29G  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 

small  churches  where  young  people  are  unable  to  buy  the  books. 
I  have  found  a  number  of  churches  where  the  young  people  are  anxious 
to  do  the  reading,  but  are  not  able  to  buy  the  books.  I  have  made 
the  suggestion  that  they  get  the  books  as  a  circulating  library.  I  am 
wondering  if  any  plan  has  been  carried  out  systematically  for  the 
churches  where  there  are  small  societies  of  young  people. 

W.  L.  Adams:  In  some  of  the  conferences  of  the  Southwest, 
books  have  been  secured  from  year  to  year,  and  the  secretary  has 
corresponded  with  isolated  members  and  has  asked  them  to  pay  the 
postage  to  and  from  the  office  on  these  books,  and  return  them  within 
a  certain  length  of  time.  This  has  proved  beneficial,  and  no  books 
have  been  lost.  A  card  index  has  been  used,  and  it  is  very  satisfac¬ 
tory.  We  are  intending  to  further  that  plan,  so  that  not  only  the 
books  of  the  Reading  Course,  but  other  good  books  may  be  secured, 
and  thus  create  a  circulating  library. 

M.  E.  Kern:  The  State  and  county  libraries  have  their  cir¬ 
culating  library  department,  and  they  are  enthusiastic.  They  are 
anxious  to  get  what  they  consider  good  books  into  the  rural  commu¬ 
nities.  I  think  we  ought  to  make  good  use  of  such  excellent  plans  to 
get  good  books  into  the  hands  of  our  y7oung  people. 

A.  W.  Russell:  The  circulating  library  of  San  Bernardino 
County  has  put  an  agency  in  our  school.  It  pays  the  postage 
both  way's,  and  any  books  not  in  the  county  library  can  be  obtained 
from  the  State  library.  So  any  books  we  do  not  have  we  can  get 
from  the  State  or  county  library7.  We  had  the  privilege  of  having  a 
hundred  books  from  the  library,  and  we  changed  them  about  every 
three  months.  We  could  make  our  own  selection. 

C.  A.  Russell:  I  have  been  wondering  if  this  suggestion  about 
the  circulating  library  from  the  conference  office  would  not  answer 
the  query  raised  by  Professor  Wood  concerning  our  young  people 
who  are  more  rapid  readers.  I  am  well  aware  of  the  fact  that  there 
is  a  class  of  superficial  readers  and  the  rapid  readers  want  to  skim. 
Yret  two  or  three  books  a  year  is  not  a  very  heavy  amount  of  reading. 

One  time  when  I  came  home  I  found  my  little  girl  reading  a  book 
she  had  secured  from  the  library.  I  wanted  to  see  the  nature  of  it, 
so  I  slipped  up  behind  her  and  discovered  the  character  of  the  book. 
I  said,  “Mildred,  don’t  you  know  you  shouldn’t  read  novels?”  She 
said,  “Papa,  this  isn’t  a  novel.”  It  was  not  called  a  novel  on  the 
first  page,  but  I  had  to  explain  to  her  that  there  were  novels  and  novels. 
Then  I  said  to  myself,  What  shall  I  do?  I  had  not  provided  the  chil¬ 
dren  with  the  Reading  Course  books.  So  I  said,  I  will  get  all  three 
of  them.  I  thought  they  would  do  for  a  long  time  to  come.  About 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


297 


two  weeks  later,  when  I  came  home  from  another  trip,  I  asked,  “Have 
you  started  on  your  Reading  Course  yet?”  “O  yes,  T  had  all  three 
of  them  read  quite  a  while  ago.” 

I  know  that  we  must  discourage  the  idea  of  too  hasty  reading, 
but  I  do  not  see  how  you  can  restrict  children  who  like  to  read,  to  two 
or  three  books  for  a  whole  year.  That  is  not  going  to  satisfy  their 
craving  for  good  reading. 

C.  P>.  Hughes:  I  wish  to  speak  of  a  plan  that  we  followed  at 
Keene  Academy  to  interest  our  students  in  the  matter  of  the  Reading 
Courses.  Three  years  ago  I  said  to  our  secretary,  “I  am  going  to 
read  both  courses  myself  this  year.”  I  suggested  that  the  students 
take  the  course,  and  told  them  that  the  last  Sabbath  of  the  school 
year  we  would  present  certificates  to  all  who  finished  courses.  I 
think  the  first  year  there  were  between  thirty  and  forty  certificates 
presented,  and  the  next  year  we  had  over  a  hundred. 

When  T  began  the  work,  I  found  the  students  had  the  idea  that 
the  Reading  Course  was  not  for  students,  but  for  young  people  who 
could  not  attend  school.  I  said,  “You  are  greatly  mistaken.  The 
only  reason  we  go  to  school  is  to  learn  how  to  read.” 

Matilda  Erickson:  I  should  like  to  ask  Professor  Hughes  how 
he  carried  on  the  written  review's  of  the  Reading  Course  v'ork  in  tfm 
school. 

C.  B.  Hughes:  It  was  largely  an  individual  matter.  This  past 
year  wre  appointed  secretaries  for  both  the  young  men  and  the  young 
women,  to  see  the  different  individuals  and  have  them  come  together 
for  the  review. 

Mr.  Steele:  During  the  past  two  years  I  have  taught  the 
ninth-grade  English  class  in  Union  College.  Last  year  I  told  them 
that  they  could  read  the  Reading  Course  books  instead  of  some  that 
I  might  require.  I  think  that  seven  took  the  work,  and  passed  suc¬ 
cessful  examinations.  This  year  I  had  nine.  That  makes  sixteen 
certificates  as  a  result  of  two  years’  work  in  that  class. 

Mrs.  C.  B.  Hughes:  I  had  a  class  of  fifty  in  composition,  and 
I  made  it  a  rule  that  none  of  them  could  have  their  grade  in  that  sub¬ 
ject  until  they  had  presented  to  me  a  statement  that  they  had  fin¬ 
ished  the  Reading  Course.  There  were  fifty  cards  issued.  I  found 
it  w^as  a  great  help. 

M.  E.  Kern:  1  think  the  principal  objection  has  been  that  the 
Standard  of  xMtainment  questions  have  been  too  hard.  Preachers, 
Bible  vrorkers,  conference  presidents,  and  other  workers  have  said 
that  they  had  to  scratch  their  heads  to  pass  it.  One  conference  pres- 


298 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


ident  said,  “As  soon  as  I  get  time  to  post  up  a  little,  so  as  not  to  dis¬ 
grace  myself,  I  will  take  the  examination.”  Ministers,  Bible  workers* 
conference  presidents,  and  some  of  the  honorable  members  who  are 
right  here,  have  taken  the  examination. 

C.  A.  Russell:  Is  that  because  of  the  fact  that  the  standard 
has  been  lowered? 

Meade  MacGuire:  I  remember  very  well  when  this  plan  was 
initiated.  Those  who  were  at  the  Mount  Vernon  Convention  kno 
that  the  idea  was  not  so  much  that  the  young  people  should  do  some 
work  that  would  be  accepted  in  our  schools,  but  that  they  should  go 
to  studying  the  questions  of  our  faith;  I  do  not  think  it  is  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  getting  credit  in  our  schools  so  much  as  of  getting  the  young 
people  to  study  the  truth  more. 

It  is  easy  to  forget  that  more  than  fifty  per  cent  of  our  young 
people  are  not  in  our  schools.  A  great  proportion  of  them  are  not 
in  any  school;  and  examinations  that  might  seem  easy  to  people 
who  are  right  in  school  all  the  time,  would  be  away  beyond  the 
reach  of  a  great  many  of  our  young  people.  We  have  had  this  ques¬ 
tion  up  many  times,  and  have  thought  it  would  be  a  good  thing  if  we 
could  put  the  Standard  of  Attainment  on  such  a  basis  that  it  would 
be  accepted  in  our  schools;  but  the  more  we  counseled  with  the  Avorkers, 
the  more  we  were  convinced  that  what  wTe  wrant  is  a  popular  move¬ 
ment  that  will  bring  in  a  great  majority  of  our  young  people,  rather 
than  to  put  the  standard  up  where  none  but  the  students  in  the  schools 
will  have  confidence  enough  to  take  the  study  and  expect  to  pass  the 
examinations.  I  believe  that  this  is  the  wiser  plan  to  followx  If  we 
can  get  the  great  mass  of  our  young  people  wTo  are  not  in  the  .schools 
to  study  our  truth,  that  will  be  a  great  incentive  to  go  into  the  school 
and  study  further.  But  if  we  put  the  standard  so  high,  where  it  will 
be  attractive  to  a  really  deep  student,  it  would  be  far  too  high  for 
those  whom  we  wash  especially  to  reach,  those  who  are  not  in  school 
and  are  rather  drifting. 

N.  W.  Lawrence:  My  thought  in  this  question  of  credit  was 
this:  That  a  graded  series  of  credits  could  be  arranged,  not  for  full 
credit,  but  perhaps  a  half  credit  for  the  Seniors  and  a  quarter  credit 
for  the  Juniors,  which  would  serve  to  set  these  young  people  who 
are  not  in  school  to  thinking  towrard  school,  and  give  them  an  in¬ 
spiration  to  go  on  and  get  a  full  credit. 


MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER  WORK  IN  OUR  COL¬ 
LEGES  AND  ACADEMIES 

C.  L.  BENSON 

Twenty-two  years  ago,  the  spirit  of  prophecy  said,  “We  have 
an  army  of  youth  today  who  can  do  much  if  they  are  properly  directed 
and  encouraged.  We  want  our  children  to  believe  the  truth.  We 
want  them  to  be  blessed  of  God.  We  want  them  to  act  a  part  in 
well-organized  plans  for  helping  other  youth.” 

According  to  the  best  statistics  we  have,  more  than  fifty  per  cent 
of  our  young  people  are  outside  of  our  schools.  Nevertheless,  we 
have  an  army  of  twenty-four  thousand  enrolled  in  our  schools  today. 
But,  as  you  all  know,  an  army  consists  of  well-organized,  disciplined, 
equipped  men;  therefore,  I  should  have  said  recruits  or  volunteers. 
Now  what  are  we  going  to  do  with  this  aggregation?  Shall  we  organ¬ 
ize  and  train  them  into  a  consecrated,  educated,  and  efficient  army? 
or  shall  we  let  them  remain  an  unorganized,  undisciplined  mob? 
The  answer  rests  with  our  school  men. 

God  has  sent  to  our  schools  the  cream  of  our  young  people,  in 
consecration,  brain,  and  brawn.  They  come  from  the  farm,  the 
shop,  and  the  factory  —  the  pick  of  the  flock.  Among  them  are 
those  impelled  by  high  resolve  and  determination.  They  will  find 
a  way  to  secure  a  Christian  education  and  a  training  for  God’s  .service, 
or  they  will  make  one.  They  hunger  for  a  Christian  education. 
Barriers  and  obstacles  must  give  way  before  them.  Many  of  them, 
if  time  lasts,  will  in  a  few  years  be  on  the  firing  line  in  home  and 
foreign  countries.  Others  will  hold  places  of  responsibility  and 
influence  in  our  conferences,  schools,  and  publishing  houses,  heralding 
the  advent  message  —  providing  they  are  properly  trained. 

Every  conference,  every  church,  and  every  home  is  directly 
interested  in  this  company  of  students.  Fathers  and  mothers  are 
sacrificing  for  them,  church  members  are  praying  for  them,  conference 
officials  are  watching  them.  They  are  the  subject  of  conversation 
around  many  firesides,  and  hourly  their  names  are  breathed  in  prayer. 
Why  are  they  there,  far  from  their  homes,  in  Seventh-day  Adventist 
schools?  The  ambitious,  self-supporting,  aspiring,  can  go  to  any 
school  in  the  land.  Trained  faculties,  well-filled  libraries,  and  lab¬ 
oratories  are  passed  by,  scarcely  noticed,  and  they  enroll  in  a  Seventh- 
day  Adventist  school.  Why?  Ah,  their  hearts  burn  within  them. 
They  are  fired  with  a  burning  ambition  to  have  a  part  in  hastening 
the  coming  of  Jesus  Christ.  Worldly  schools  cannot  equip  them  for 
this  important  work.  Likewise,  self-sacrificing  fathers  and  mothers 
are  sending  them  to  our  Christian  schools,  with  the  longing  that 

299 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


300 

they  may  be  trained  to  be  God’s  boys  and  girls,  his  men  and  women, 
and  eventually  his  workers. 

In  the  light  of  these  facts,  what  is  the  business  of  our  schools? 
What  are  they  going  to  do  with  these  thousands  of  young  men  and 
women  in  their  care? 

Our  schools  were  established,  and  are  maintained,  by  denomi¬ 
national  sacrifice  and  money.  Our  faculties  are  employed  to  give 
a  denominational  training,  to  make  Seventh-day  Adventist  men 
and  women,  thoroughly  indoctrinated  and  tired  with  the  third  angel’s 
message. 

But  what  relation  does  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work  sustain 
to  these  thousands  of  young  people  from  every  conference  from  Maine 
to  California  and  from  Canada  to  the  Gulf?  Our  faithful  Missionary 
Volunteer  secretaries  have  helped  to  ferret  out  and  encourage  these 
boys  and  girls,  and  influence  their  parents  to  send  them  to  our  de¬ 
nominational  schools.  Are  our  secretaries  interested  in  the  finished 
product,  the  growth  and  development  of  these  boys  and  girls?  Do 
they  feel  a  responsibility  resting  upon  them  for  their  part  in  the  affair? 
Witness  the  prayers  ascending,  the  letters  written,  and  the  visits 
made  to  the  homes  and  the  schools  to  see  how  their  boys  and  girls 
are  getting  along.  Many  of  them  might  be  teachers,  but  they  chose 
to  be  recruiting  agents  for  you.  Is  there  any  relation  existing  between 
the  Missionary  Volunteer  work  and  our  schools?  Indeed,  I  believe 
you  will  all  say  a  close  relation. 

Do  you  ask  the  reason  of  our  special  interest  in  the  Missionary 
Volunteer  work  in  our  schools?  Listen!  The  personnel  of  your 
school  Missionary  Volunteer  societies  are  our  boys  and  girls  from  our 
fields  and  homes.  They  have  left  homes  in  which  we  have  slept  and 
eaten,  churches  in  which  we  hold  our  membership,  and  Missionary 
Volunteer  Societies  that  we  have  been  instrumental  in  establishing. 
They  are  now  your  boys  and  girls,  as  well  as  our  boys  and  girls. 
They  were  members  and  leaders  of  our  local  Missionary  Volunteer 
Societies,  now  they  are  members  and  officers  of  the  academy  and 
college  Missionary  Volunteer  Societies.  Tn  a  few  years  they  will 
return  to  our  local  conference  societies  to  strengthen  and  build  up 
our  work,  or  they  will  be  out  of  harmony  with  it  and  tear  it  down. 
Others  will  pass  on  to  fields  of  larger  influence,  to  strengthen  and 
uphold  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work  on  the  firing  line,  or  the  op- 
.  posite. 

We  believe  that  in  addition  to  the  possibilities  wrapped  up  in 
our  school  Missionary  Volunteer  Societies  from  the  field  side,  there 
are  great,  undeveloped  latent  powers  in  the  Missionary  Volunteer 
Societies  from  the  side  of  the  school.  The  most  active,  consecrated, 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


spiritual  young  people  you  have  in  school  are  the  Missionary  Volun¬ 
teers.  They  touch  every  class,  from  the  freshmen  to  the  seniors. 
They  are  the  leaders,  and  they  will  be  the  future  leaders  of  our  local 
church  and  conference  work. 

Here  is  a  great  Niagara  of  power  in  our  schools.  But  we  do  not 
know  this  power  because  we  have  never  harnessed  it.  Think  of 
this  ponderous  spiritualizing  agency,  if  properly  directed  and  trained. 
Think  how  the  daily  religious,  social,  mental,  and  physical  problems 
could  be  simplified  with  the  entire  force  and  energy  of  this  body 
utilized. 

We  believe  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work  in  our  schools  can 
help  to  make  our  denominational  schools  like  the  schools  of  the 
prophets.  The  Missionary  Volunteer  Society  should  intensify  the 
vision  of  life  work  in  the  message  of  every  youth.  It  may  deepen 
his  religious  experience.  It  furnishes  an  abundant  opportunity  to 
correct  by  practice  his  theories  of  doing  religious  work  with  his  un¬ 
converted  schoolmates.  He  can  help  strengthen  the  discouraged, 
reclaim  the  backslidden,  correct  offenders,  sweeten  the  disgruntled, 
and  mold  student  sentiment  and  all  school  functions.  Thus  the  school 
Missionary  Volunteer  Society  may  become  a  most  powerful  dynamo, 
releasing  an  energy  and  influence  in  the  classroom,  on  the  campus, 
and  in  the  dormitories,  making  every  school  a  successful,  soul-winning 
Bethel. 

m  , 

Through  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Society,  outside  efforts  can 
be  carried  on  in  schoolhouses  and  halls,  Bible  readings  held,  literature 
distributed,  Christian  help  rendered,  and  prejudice  broken  down, 
both  in  the  school  town  and  elsewTere. 

Again,  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Society  may  become  a  powerful 
factor  for  stimulating  loyalty  to  the  school.  Letters  may  enter 
every  home,  church,  and  conference  represented  at  the  school,  through 
the  Missionary  Volunteer  student,  that  will  place  the  praises  of  the 
school  on  many  a  tongue,  and  will  result  in  greatly  increased  attend¬ 
ance,  from  the  twenty-four  thousand  not  now  attending.  Each 
student  upon  returning  home,  during  vacation,  or  engaging  in  can¬ 
vassing  or  conference  w^ork,  would  be  a  personal  enlisting  agency. 
Our  young  people  are  energetic  and  hungry  for  service.  Shall  our 
schools  not  take  advantage  of  this  stored-up  energy  that  is  sure 
to  be  expended  in  some  direction? 

Thus  the  school  Missionary  Volunteer  Society  may  become  a 
great  laboratory  for  spiritual  work,  wrorking  in  perfect  harmony  with 
all  organized  denominational  work.  The  .young  people  thus  gain 
an  experience,  and  become  accustomed  to  offering  prayer  in  public, 
preparing  papers  and  giving  studies,  as  well  as  leading  meetings. 


302 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


The  work  may  he  so  efficiently  organized  under  faculty  supervision 
and  direction,  that  the  greatest  efficiency  will  result. 

Surely  no  one  will  question  the  fact  that  the  Missionary  Volun¬ 
teer  Society  is  an  integral  part  of  the  school,  just  as  much  as  are 
the  Sabbath  school  and  the  Sabbath  church  services. 

But  the  question  of  time  is  raised  by  some:  When  shall  the  Mission¬ 
ary  Volunteer  meeting  be  held?  Some  schools  hold  it  on  Sabbath 
afternoon,  others  on  Friday  night.  But  if  your  program  is  too  con¬ 
gested,  what  would  be  the  objection  to  holding  it  at  some  chapel  hour, 
or  the  night  after  the  Sabbath?  I  believe  the  hour  should  be  fixed 
definitely,  and  nothing  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  it.  But  some 
urge  that  the  Missionary  Volunteer  meeting  should  be  held  on  Friday 
night,  and  should  alternate  with  the  students’  Friday  evening  social 
meeting.  Now  a  number  of  serious  objections  to  this  plan  of  alter¬ 
nating  occur  to  me:  — 

1.  This  plan  interferes  with  the  consecutive  use  of  the  Missionary 
Volunteer  lessons  used  throughout  the  field.  Lessons  must  be  dropped, 
and  the  interest  ceases.  Think  of  conducting  a  Sabbath  school 
and  omitting  every  other  lesson.  How  long  would  you  be  able  to 
report  one  hundred  per  cent  attendance? 

2.  It  is  out  of  harmony  with  all  the  local  church  societies  repre¬ 
sented  in  the  school.  It  tends  to  independent  action,  and  encourages 
all  the  lopal  societies  to  do  the  same. 

3.  The  student  Missionary  Volunteer  is  out  of  touch,  and  pres¬ 
ently  out  of  sympathy,  with  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work.  When 
he  leaves  school  at  vacation  time,  or  on  the  completion  of  his  work, 
he  is  neither  prepared  to  assist  his  local  church  in  the  society  work, 
nor  is  he  qualified  to  become  a  conference  Missionary  Volunteer 
secretary.  And  surely  we  should  have  consecrated,  educated  young 
men  and  women  working  for  our  boys  and  girls,  just  as  much  as  for 
the  unbelievers  or  members  of  other  denominations. 

Therefore,  we  trust  that  our  schools  will  not  countenance  any 
effort  to  hedge  the  use  of  the  Department  lessons,  and  thus  throw 
the  twenty-four  thousand  boys  and  girls  in  school  out  of  harmony 
with  the  conference  work.  Surely  denominational  schools  should 
educate  and  prepare  students  to  be  in  harmony  with  and  to  do  de¬ 
nominational  work. 

The  Missionary  Volunteer  Devotional  and  Educational  Features 

1.  The  Morning  Watch. —  Many  of  the  students  in  our  schools 
are  in  the  adolescent  age,  and  are  passing  through  the  doubting 
and  reconstructive  period.  Their  horizon  is  receding.  Perhaps 
for  the  first  time  they  are  far  away  from  home,  mother’s  love,  and 
father’s  counsel.  Daily  their  minds  are  being  challenged.  They 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


303 


discover  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  as  they  study  Bible,  history, 
and  science.  The  daily  grind  of  school  work  with  all  its  demands  and 
perplexities  is  liable  to  crowd  out  their  study  of  the  Bible  and  their 
communion  with  Christ,  thus  leaving  them  exposed  to  the  insin¬ 
uations  and  attacks  of  the  enemy  of  their  souls.  Instead  of  growing 
spiritually,  there  is  grave  danger  that  many,  in  spite  of  their  parents’ 
prayers  and  the  faculty’s  efforts,  will  make  shipwreck  of  their  faith. 
They  need  a  close  acquaintance  with  Jesus,  to  learn  how  to  dwell  in 
the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High,  and  to  be  able  to  get  an  audience 
with  Heaven  in  every  hour  of  need.  Surely  there  is  no  better  way  for 
them  to  grow  spiritually,  and  to  become  men  and  women  of  God, 
than  through  the  daily  conscientious  observance  of  the  Morning 
Watch . 

The  school  can  help  in  the  cultivation  of  the  prayer  and  devo¬ 
tional  habit,  by  observing  the  silent  hour  in  the  morning  instead  of  in 
the  evening.  Some  of  our  schools  are  doing  this  with  very  gratifying 
results.  Or,  if  thought  best,  the  Morning  Watch  verse  can  be  re¬ 
peated  by  all  at  morning  prayers.  Efforts  should  be  put  forth  to 
get  every  Christian  student  to  observe  the  Morning  Watch. 

2.  Reading  Courses. —  The  students  in  our  schools  are  of  the 
reading  age.  Many  high-school  students  are  required  to  read  a  book 
of  fiction  every  week,  a  total  of  thirty-six  books  in  a  nine-months’ 
term.  Some  authorities  state  that  the  normal  young  person  in  the 
teens  will  read  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  books  a  year.  I 
met  one  Seventh-day  Adventist  girl  who  read  sixty  novels  through  in 
one  vacation.  Young  people  are  greatly  influenced  by  the  books  they 
read,  and  read  they  will. 

It  was  for  this  reason  that  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Department 
launched  and  conducts  a  Junior  and  a  Senior  Missionary  Volunteer 
Reading  Course.  There  are  a  number  of  ways  in  which  the  schools 
can  promote  this  work,  and  thus  assist  their  students  in  securing 
excellent  books  to  read:  — 

1.  The  Reading  Course  books  can  be  placed  in  the  school  library 
each  year. 

2.  Spicy,  bristling  reviews  of  these  books  can  be  given  in  chapel, 
and  the  books  displayed. 

3.  These  books  can  be  placed  in  the  list  of  English  supplementary 
reading,  and  emphasis  laid  on  their  value. 

4.  The  preceptor  and  preceptress  can  read  the  books  at  vespers, 
as  occasion  permits,  thus  adding  their  inspiration. 

5.  Reading  circles  and  bands  can  be  formed  among  the  students, 
where  these  books  can  be  read  and  discussed,  and  a  pleasant  social 
hour  passed. 


:m  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 

The  students  will  discuss  the  books,  and  write  home  describing 
and  recommending  them.  By  reading  these  excellent  books  they 
will  be  inspired  to  become  noble  men  and  women.  Right  principles 
and  ideals  will  be  inculcated,  and  many  will  be  helped  to  become 
workers. 

3.  Standard  of  Attainment  Work. —  The  Standard  of  Attainment 
was  started  primarily  for  the  young  people  who  are  not  privileged 
to  attend  our  schools.  But  those  who  complete  the  Bible  Doctrines 
and  Denominational  History  Courses  in  our  schools,  are  entitled  to 
receive  the  Standard  of  Attainment  certificate.  Those  not  taking 
Bible  Doctrines  can  take  the  North  American  Division  examination 
in  March,  and  try  for  a  certificate. 

4.  Missionary  Volunteer  Day. —  By  action  of  the  General  Confer¬ 
ence,  the  first  Sabbath  in  May  has  been  set  aside  to  be  observed 
throughout  the  world  as  Missionary  Volunteer  Day.  The  purpose 
is  to  make  this  a  special  occasion  of  turning  the  hearts  of  the  parents 
to  their  children.  It  is  hoped  that  a  special  effort  will  be  made  in 
every  church  to  get  the  young  people  who  are  unconverted,  to  take 
their  stand  for  Christ.  Many  of  our  schools  observe  this  day  to  great 
advantage,  and  we  hope  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  every  school 
will  heartily  cooperate  in  this  world  challenge  to  our  dear  young 
people.  The  Department  will  welcome  any  suggestions  as  to  how 
the  day  can  be  made  more  profitable  to  our  schools. 

5.  Summer  School  Work. —  For  some  time  our  Department  has 
felt  that  a  special  effort  should  be  put  forth  at  our  .summer  schools 
to  render  real  assistance  to  our  church-school  teachers  in  their  efforts 
to  win  and  train  our  Junior  boys  and  girls  for  Christ.  They  are 
the  leaders  of  the  boys  and  girls  in  about  six  hundred  local  churches. 
They  should  be  instructed  how  to  organize  and  successfully  conduct 
model  Junior  societies  in  their  schools.  There  should  also  be  an 
opportunity  for  question  boxes  on  missionary  work.  An  exhibit  of 
Missionary  Volunteer  Reading  Course  books  and  leaflets  should  be 
on  display  and  for  sale. 

In  conclusion,  let  us  all  recognize  the  intimate  relation  existing 
between  our  schools  and  the  field,  between  our  Missionary  Volunteer 
workers  and  our  faculties.  As  Missionary  Volunteer  workers  we 
pledge  ourselves  to  do  our  utmost  to  fill  our  schools  with  boys  and 
girls,  young  men  and  women,  to  be  trained  for  the  Master’s  service. 
And  we  beseech  you,  as  educators,  to  uphold  our  hands,  like  Aaron 
and  Hur  did  the  hands  of  Moses,  by  fostering  and  promoting  the 
Missionary  Volunteer  work  among  your  students,  so  that  when  they 
return  to  their  local  churches  or  go  to  fields  of  greater  usefulness, 
they  will  be  in  entire  accord  and  sympathy  with  our  organized  work. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


805 


DISCUSSION 

Frederick  Griggs:  I  should  like  to  read,  in  introducing  my 
remarks,  an  account  of  the  children  of  Israel’s  assembling  themselves 
together  with  David  at  Ziklag,  in  which  are  described  the  various 
men  of  war:  ‘‘All  these  men  of  war,  that  could  keep  rank,  came  with 
a  perfect  heart  to  Hebron,  to  make  David  king  over  all  Israel:  and 
all  the  rest  also  of  Israel  were  of  one  heart  to  make  David  king." 

This  was  the  spirit  that  prevailed  among  the  children  of  Israel 
in  the  setting  up  of  David  as  king.  Now  we  have  come  to  the  setting 
up  of  the  eternal  kingdom,  and  the  same  spirit  must  prevail.  There 
must  be  men  that  can  handle  the  weapons  of  spiritual  warfare  with 
both  hands.  But  this  particular  thought  of  keeping  rank  is  what  I 
wish  to  draw  your  attention  to  particularly.  These  men  could 
keep  rank. 

Now  men  cannot  keep  rank  unless  one  man  will  lengthen  his 
steps  and  another  will  shorten  his  steps.  It  does  not  often  happen 
that  two  men  walk  together  whose  length  of  stride  is  exactly  the 
same.  I  think  the  success  of  our  whole  work  depends  upon  bringing 
into  it  this  very  spirit  of  united  effort  as  indicated  in  this  ]  aper. 
Here  is  a  call  by  the  Young  People’s  Department  to  the  Educational 
Department,  asking  them  to  keep  step  with  them  in  the  work  which 
they  are  trying  to  do,  and  1  think  that  we  ought  to  resolve  that  it 
shall  be  done. 

Likewise  the  Educational  Department  is  making  calls  to  the 
Missionary  Volunteer  Department  to  keep  step  with  them.  We 
must  feel  that  the  success  of  our  schools  with  respect  to  numbers  de¬ 
pends  to  a  great  extent  upon  the  work  of  the  Missionary  Volunteer 
Department.  We  have  had  a  great  increase  in  our  schools  in  the  last 
seven  years.  After  our  Missionary  Volunteer  Department  was  organ¬ 
ized,  at  Mount  Vernon  in  1907,  there  was  a  striking  increase  in  the 
attendance  of  our  schools  for  a  year  or  two.  In  fact,  they  nearly 
doubled  in  attendance.  It  is  evident  that  we  on  our  part  must  keep 
step  with  them  in  helping  them  ’to  develop  t  he  work  which  they  are 
endeavoring  to  do. 

I  am  frank  to  confess  that  our  step  has  been  shorter  than  our  neigh¬ 
bors’.  We  have  not  been  giving  heed  to  the  lessons;  neither  to  the 
Standard  of  Attainment,  which  this  Department  has  prepared;  nor 
have  we  been  giving  heed  to  the  Morning  Watch, —  three  great  ed¬ 
ucational  features.  And  if  they  have  more  educational  features, 
I  fear  we  have  not  been  giving  heed  to  them. 

I  believe  our  schools  can  and  should  be  made  the  strongest  work¬ 
ing  factor  of  the  Young  People’s  Department  in  all  these  phases. 
And  we  can  do  it.  We  have  the  pupils  where  we  can  teach  them  to 

20 


306 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


study  these  lessons,  where  we  can  hold  before  them  the  Morning 
Watch. 

Also  I  believe  we  can  wheel  into  line  in  the  matter  of  the  Mission¬ 
ary  Volunteer  lessons.  We  have  been  losing  a  great  deal  that  will 
help  us  very  much.  There  is  a  difference'  manifested  with  refer¬ 
ence  to  these  lessons  in  our  schools.  In  one  way  this  is  natural. 
Many  of  our  schools  are  so  located  that  our  leading  speakers  visit 
them  frequently,  and  it  is  a  very  natural  thing  that  the  young  people 
should  ask  these  men  to  speak  to  them,  and  I  think  perhaps  it  is 
right  they  should.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  I  do  believe  that  the 
programs  should  be  so  arranged  that  the  time  for  using  these  lessons 
may  be  held  to  religiously.  I  think  that  we  lose  more  by  failing  to 
have  the  lessons  at  the  regular  time,  thus  placing  our  students  out  of 
sympathy  with  the  thousands  of  young  people  all  over  the  world 
who  are  having  the  lesson  at  that  time,  than  we  gain  by  having  the 
leading  men  speak  to  the  company.  And  to  a  large  extent  we  are 
responsible,  in  that  we  have  left  the  young  people  in  this  matter  of 
programs  to  shift  largely  for  themselves.  Now  let  us  give  it  proper 
attention. 

I  have  wondered  whether  it  would  be  out  of  place  to  arrange 
the  program  of  the  week  so  that  the  young  people  can  have  an  hour 
right  in  the  heart  of  the  week,  perhaps,  or  at  some  time  that  will  not 
conflict  with  the  Friday  evening  meeting  or  with  the  Sabbath  school. 
In  some  places  it  is  arranged  for  the  chapel  hour  to  be  occupied  at 
that  time. 

O.  J.  Graf:  I  come  forward  in  all  humility  to  make  my  con¬ 
fession.  But  I  wonder  if  it  would  do  violence  to  the  subject  to  change 
it  just  a  little,  and  have  it  read  like  this  for  a  few  minutes,  “The 
Colleges  and  Academies  in  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Work.” 

I  believe  that  not  only  should  our  programs  and  our  general 
work  tend  to  bring  students  into  our  schools,  but  that  the  Missionary 
Volunteer  secretary  should  consider  it  a  definite  and  specific  part  of 
his  or  her  business  to  recruit  students  for  our  schools. 

I  think  there  can  be  no  contradiction  to  this,  that  the  chances 
are  a  hundred  to  one  that  these  young  men  will  become  workers  if 
they  go  to  school,  as  against  the  proposition  if  they  do  not  go  to 
school.  We  have  very  few  going  into  the  work  excepting  from  our 
schools.  If  that  is  true,  I  believe  that  a  secretary  should  set  the  min¬ 
imum  goal  for  at  least  a  dozen  students  to  be  sent  to  the  school, 
either  academy  or  college,  each  year.  I  likewise  agree  that  we  should 
conduct  a  model  society,  so  that  the  young  people,  as  they  go  out, 
will  at  least  know  what  the  Standard  of  Attainment  is,  ^nd  not  be 
like  the  person  Professor  Stone  told  about,  who  did  not  know  the 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


307 


difference  between  the  Standard  of  Attainment  and  the  Reading 
Course.  Our  young  people  when  they  leave  us  as  graduates,  after 
having  been  with  us  a  year  or  more,  ought  to  know  all  about  the 
Missionary  Volunteer  work;  they  ought  to  be  able  to  lift  in  any 
capacity  wherever  they  go. 

I  may  differ  from  you  on  the  subject  of  programs,  as  I  have  a  few 
convictions  that  I  cannot  overcome  in  connection  with  this  plan  for 
programs. 

I  hold  that  the  Missionary  Volunteer  lessons  are  not  like  the 
Sabbath  school  lessons.  I  do  not  think  they  ought  to  be  given  every 
week,  like  the  Sabbath  school  lesson.  In  fact,  if  it  is  a  repetition  of 
the  Sabbath  school  proposition,  the  very  purpose  of  the  society  to 
develop  initiative  is  being  lost  sight  of,  for  somebody  somewhere 
else  is  doing  the  thinking  for  our  young  people,  and  they  lose  some¬ 
thing  that  they  could  gain  by  getting  under  the  burden  more  com¬ 
pletely  than  they  do.  I  believe  some  provision  is  made,  however,  for 
this  originality.  But  isn’t  it  true  that  these  lessons  are  now  being  pre¬ 
pared  by  the  Department,  not  for  the  young  people  in  large  centers, 
but  for  our  young  people  outside  of  our  centers?  At  our  school 
centers  the  young  people  want  to  do  something,  and  if  they  develop 
the  things  themselves,  they  take  more  interest  in  getting  up  their 
programs. 

Yet  we  must  be  loyal;  we  must  be  willing  to  sacrifice.  But  to 
us,  though  we  may  be  wrong,  it  seems  that  our  best  interests  lie  in 
diverting  from  the  program  occasionally;  and  yet  we  must  not  send 
students  out  who  are  not  in  touch  with  the  Missionary  Volunteer 
work  and  programs.  1  believe,  taking  everything  into  account, 
that  we  ought  to  keep  our  eyes  on  those  lessons,  we  ought  to  remind 
our  young  people  that  they  should  heed  the  lessons,  and  yet  I  do 
not  believe  it  is  our  duty  to  hold  to  them  absolutely. 

It  is  our  custom,  at  our  first  young  people’s  meeting,  Sabbath 
afternoon,  to  have  the  canvassers  take  up  the  time.  They  have  just 
come  in  from  the  field,  and  are  boiling  over  with  their  subject.  Right 
then  and  there  young  people  who  have  never  been  in  our  school 
before  have  made  their  decision  that  they  would  canvass  the  next 
year.  The  canvassers  do  not  get  through  the  first  Sabbath,  and  so 
we  give  them  the  next  also;  and  the  next  week  somebody  else  decides 
to  go  into  the  canvassing  field  the  next  summer.  That  spirit  goes 
right  through  the  school  year.  I  think  we  ought  to  be  given  just  a 
little  latitude,  if  we  will  promise,  on  the  other  hand,  to  keep  on  the 
main  line  most  of  the  time. 

We  can  do  more  than  this  for  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work. 
For  seven  years  in  our  school  we  have  conducted  a  Missionary  Volun- 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


;*08 


teer  Band.  This  band  the  past  year  was  combined  with  the  Sabbath 
School  Band.  They  hold  their  meetings  Tuesday  morning,  at  the 
chapel  hour.  We  come  into  the  chapel  and  have  a  part  of  our  open¬ 
ing  exercises,  and  then  the  whole  school  divides  into  these  different 
bands, —  the  Foreign  Mission  Band,  which  studies  the  foreign  fields; 
the  Ministerial  or  Evangelical  Band,  which  combines  the  ministerial 
and  the  Bible  workers’  bands;  the  Canvassers’  Band,  which  includes 
all  who  are  planning  to  canvass  the  next  year;  and  I  might  say  right 
here  that  the  work  in  this  band,  running  all  through  the  year,  adds 
from  ten  to  fifty  per  cent  to  the  efficiency  of  our  canvassers. 

Thus  the  Sabbath  School  and  Missionary  Volunteer  Bands  com¬ 
bine,  one  having  the  meeting  one  week  and  the  other  the  next,  each 
having  a  leader.  They  study  what  the  Standard  of  Attainment  means, 
what  the  Reading  Course  is,  they  organize  a  society;  and  when  the 
year  is  over  they  have  had  eighteen  meetings,  more  or  less,  during 
which  time  they  have  learned  a  great  deal  about  the  work;  and  some  of 
those  who  have  attended  that  series  of  band  meetings  are  now  in¬ 
terested  in  taking  up  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work.  I  believe  that 
we  can  do  this  to  the  benefit  of  the  school  and  the  benefit  of  the  Mis¬ 
sionary  Volunteer  work. 

Professor  Machlan:  I  am  intensely  interested  in  the  young 
people’s  work.  I  am  glad  that  we  have  fallen  into  line  more  this 
year  than  we  have  ever  done  before.  But  we  have  not  been  as  in¬ 
terested  in  our  Young  People’s  Society  at  South  Lancaster  as  we 
should  have  been,  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  we  have  allowed  the 
young  people  to  look  after  this  matter  themselves,  and  it  developed 
more  into  entertainment  than  anything  else  —  a  program  for  enter¬ 
tainment,  music,  and  other  things.  But  this  year  we  resolved  in 
our  hearts  that  we  would  follow  the  plan  outlined  by  the  Department. 
We  began  to  use  the  programs,  and  we  organized  bands, —  the  Chris¬ 
tian  Help  Band,  the  Prison  and  Hospital  Band,  and  other  bands  that 
are  recommended.  These  bands  occupied  the  chapel  and  drill  period 
on  Wednesday;  and  we  felt  greatly  repaid  for  the  time  given  to  the 
young  people. 

In  the  first  place  the  report  of  the  bands  brought  great  inspi¬ 
ration  into  the  hearts  of  the  teachers.  One  instance  I  will  relate: 
A  young  lady  from  the  Christian  Help  Band  told  of  going  to  a  home 
with  the  one  with  whom  she  was  asked  to  work.  They  found  the 
house  in  very  bad  disorder,  and  they  cleaned  the  house  up,  washed 
the  dishes,  and  cleaned  up  the  children;  and  in  washing  the  dishes 
they  found  that  the  family  had  no  more  than  half  enough  dishes  for 
use,  so  the  next  week  they  took  some  dishes.  The  next  week  they 
found  that  the  family  was  in  very  poor  circumstances,  and  so  they  took 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


1509 

along  some  food.  “And  now,”  she  said,  “we  are  ready  for  a  visit 
from  some  one  in  the  Bible  Workers’  Band."  I  mention  this  to  show 
that  the  work  spread  from  one  band  to  the  other.  They  were  begin¬ 
ning  to  see  what  they  could  do.  We  have  felt  that  great  good  was 
being  done  in  this  wav. 

I  remember,  that  after  the  first  meeting,  three  young  people 
came  to  me  and  said,  “We  believe  we  should  like  to  join  the  Young 
People’s  Society.  What  shall  we  do?"  They  had  begun  to  think 
it  was  a  part  of  the  school:  but  I  referred  them  to  the  proper  author¬ 
ities,  so  they  could  unite  with  the  society. 

This  plan  of  working  has  resulted  in  building  up  the  society  to  a 
better  standard  than  we  have  ever  seen  before  in  South  Lancaster.  We 
believe  that  the  Lord  will  bless  that  kind  of  work. 

In  regard  to  the  Reading  Course,  we  hope  next  year  to  be  able 
to  help  our  young  people  along  this  line  more  than  we  have,  and  with 
the  Morning  Watch. 

Bessie  Acton  :  When  1  received  the  program  and  saw  the  names 
that  were  on  for  this  discussion,  I  was,  with  the  rest  of  our  Bible 
Band,  reading  in  the  book  of  Job,  chapter  32.  I  thought  the  words 
that  Elihu  spoke  could  be  applied  here,  with  some  variations:  — 

“I  am  a  conference  secretary  and  ye  are  school  men:  wherefore  I 
was  afraid,  and  durst  not  show  you  mine  opinion.  I  said,  Days  should 
speak,  and  multitude  of  years  should  teach  wisdom.  But  there  is 
a  spirit  in  man:  and  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty  giveth  them  under¬ 
standing. 

“Great  men  are  not  always  wise:  neither  do  the  school  men  al¬ 
ways  understand  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work.  Therefore  I  said, 
Hearken  unto  me;  I  also  will  show  mine  opinion." 

God  is  calling  the  youth  for  service  today.  We  know  that  with 
our  army  of  youth  rightly  trained  the  gospel  would  go  quickly  to 
every  nation,  kindred,  tongue,  and  people. 

Our  boys  and  girls  volunteer  quickly,  as  they  hear  the  needs  of 
the  field;  but  too  often  they  have  not  received  the  training  that  is 
necessary  for  effective  service.  Earnest,  capable  leaders  are  needed 
to  take  charge  of  these  little  companies,  that  their  efforts  may  not  be 
unavailing  and  they  become  discouraged.  Is  it  not  natural  that  we 
should  turn  to  our  schools  to  find  these  leaders  that  we  so  much  need? 
Here  is  where  a  dark  cloud  has  hung  over  the  experience  of  many  of  us. 

When  I  first  took  up  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work,  I  expected  to 
find  just  the  leaders  I  needed  from  those  who  had  left  our  school;  but 
to  my  sorrow  and  disappointment  I  found  that  when  these  young  peo¬ 
ple  returned  to  their  homes,  although  they  had  been  full  of  enthusiasm 
at  school  and  had  done  good  work,  they  regarded  the  little  company 


310 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


at  home  as  too  insignificant  to  receive  their  attention.  They  were 
too  tired  to  assist,  or  too  busy  to  attend  the  meetings.  They  had 
higher  aspirations,  or  felt  that  they  could  work  Up  better  programs 
of  their  own.  This  meant  failure. 

But  there  is  a  silver  lining  to  this  cloud.  Our  school  has  changed 
during  the  past  year.  The  students  are  aiming  at  the  goal  that  the 
organization  has  set  before  them.  When  I  talked  the  matter  over 
with  our  young  people,  they  began  to  plan  what  they  would  do  in 
one  line  and  then  in  another.  I  have  many  names  on  my  list  of 
students  who  are  reading  their  Bible  through  this  year.  Just  before 
the  holidays  one  of  the  teachers  said  to  me,  “Don’t  let  the  girls  know  * 
when  the  Morning  Watch  Calendars  come.  I  am  going  to  give  each 
one  of  them  a  Calendar  for  Christmas.”  We  had  a  fine  class  taking  the 
Standard  of  Attainment  studies  this  year,  and  they  were  certainly 
proud  of  their  certificates. 

Our  Reading  Course  has  not  developed  as  much  as  we  hope  it 
will  in  the  future,  although  a  few  are  reading  these  books.  But  I 
know  that  we  can  do  it  if  we  will.  I  feel  that  it  is  just  a  lack  of  under¬ 
standing  on  the  part  of  our  school  men;  and  as  soon  as  they  under¬ 
stand  more  fully  the  importance  of  thorough  organization  that  we 
may  go  forward  to  the  end  together,  I  believe  we  are  going  to  have 
trained  leaders  that  we  can  trust,  no  matter  in  what  society  they  are 
found. 

M.  E.  Kern:  We  are  anxious  to  cooperate.  I  am  sorry  we  have 
failed  in  the  Department  to  do  as  much  for  the  schools  as  we  ought 
to  do,  but  I  must  say  that  coming  out  of  the  school  into  this  work, 
it  has  been  my  ideal  from  the  first  that  one  of  the  first  aims  of  the 
young  people’s  work  should  be  that  of  a  recruiting  officer  for  the 
school.  I  think  we  are  understanding  each  other’s  work  better, 
and  I  believe  that  this  meeting  will  mean  a  great  uplift  for  the  Mis¬ 
sionary  Volunteer  work,  which  is  synonymous  in  my  mind  with  the 
salvation  of  the  young  people. 

I  am  very  much  interested  in  the  suggestion  that  has  been  made 
concerning  the  silent  hour  in  the  morning.  We  tried  that  at  Wash¬ 
ington,  and  if  I  were  in  a  school,  I  should  not  think  of  going  back  to 
the  evening  hour.  I  believe  the  first  hour  in  the  morning  is  the 
Lord’s  time  for  this  work,  and  it  does  not  take  any  more  time  than 
the  other  way.  I  do  not  believe  the  students  are  any  more  rushed 
then.  I  think  they  observe  it  better  than  during  the  evening  hour. 

Some  of  our  schools  have  done  remarkably  well  in  this  Reading 
Course  work.  It  was  the  plan  of  Miss  Graf,  who  was  preceptress 
at  Emmanuel  Missionary  College,  as  well  as  the  present  arrangement, 
that  three  of  the  worship  hours  in  the  week  be  given  to  the  Reading 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


311 


Course.  And  my  observation  is  that  it  has  not  lessened  the  spirit¬ 
ual  atmosphere  of  the  school  one  whit,  because  I  have  not  been  in 
a  home  where  things  were  in  better  shape.  And  Miss  Graf  says  it 
really  works  very  well,  and  gives  a  chance  for  some  of  the  girls  to 
express  themselves,  to  have  a  little  part  in  leadership,  that  she  would 
not  feel  free  to  put  in  a  distinctively  religious  exercise. 

Almetta  B.  Garrett:  We  have  nineteen  societies  that  hold 
their  exercises  every  Wednesday  morning,  according  to  the  plan  of 
the  Missionary  Volunteer  Department.  Not  only  this,  but  the 
Reading  Course  work  has  been  brought  before  the  students  especially 
in  the  intermediate  schools.  I  think  it  was  planned  that  the  teachers 
should  read  in  the  morning  from  the  Reading  Course  books. 

The  majority  of  our  schools  observe  the  Morning  Watch  every 
morning  in  their  schools.  In  some  of  the  intermediate  schools  I  go 
to  help  give  the  examinations  at  the  close  of  the  year.  I  take  the 
Standard  of  Attainment  questions  with  me,  and  give  both  examinations 
at  the  same  time. 

I  would  not  for  anything  take  away  from  our  schools  the  experience 
they  have  had  in  the  Wednesday  morning  meetings.  I  believe 
many  of  the  conversions  have  come  directly  from  the  work  of  the 
Missionary  Volunteer  Department. 

C.  A.  Russell:  In  the  Lake  Union  Conference  we  have  just 
one  hundred  schools,  and  I  think  I  am  correct  in  stating  that  we  have 
one  hundred  Junior  societies. 

One  of  our  teachers  wrote  me  some  time  ago:  “I  do  not  see  how 
it  would  be  possible  to  organize  a  Junior  society  in  my  school.  The 
children  are  so  irresponsive,  and  I  cannot  bring  myself  to  the  point 
of  doing  it.” 

Finally  she  decided  to  make  the  effort.  She  now  says  that  she 
would  not  think  of  going  back  to  the  old  plan.  Then  she  told  how 
one  after  another  those  children’s  hearts  had  been  touched,  how  they 
had  been  led  to  the  Master,  and  how  a  different  spirit  and  atmosphere 
had  come  over  the  entire  school.  She  is  one  of  the  most  enthusi¬ 
astic  supporters  of  the  Junior  work. 

I  hope  the  Department  will  have  some  more  definite  information 
concerning  just  how  this  work  should  be  planned  and  carried  out. 
It  will  be  helpful,  I  am  sure. 

W.  E.  Howell:  There  are  a  few  suggestions  that  have  occurred  to 
me  in  regard  to  the  schools’  following  the  lessons  planned  by  the 
General  Department.  I  was  out  in  the  field  four  months  last  summer, 
and  was  asked  to  talk  at  nearly  every  place  I  went.  I  made  it  a 
rule,  when  asked  to  speak  to  Young  People’s  Societies,  to  ask,  “What 
do  you  want  me  to  talk  about?”  “What  is  your  theme  for  today?” 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


312 

I  find  it  is  just  as  easy,  though  I  am  not  especially  versatile,  to  adapt 
my  talk  for  the  most  part  to  the  theme  of  the  lesson  for  the  day,  as 
to  choose  a  topic  of  my  own.  You  know  you  can  turn  such  a  theme 
in  almost  any  direction  you  want  to. 

I  do  think  that  the  maintaining  of  the  connection  between  the 
topic  for  the  hour  and  the  lessons  that  have  been  provided,  is  worth 
a  great  deal.  I  do  believe  that  it  is  necessary  to  provide  for  proper 
initiative  in  our  young  people,  for  that  is  indispensable  to  the  kind 
of  leadership  we  want  to  see  them  develop.  I  am  not  disposed  to 
develop  the  kind  of  initiative  that  puffs  up.  We  have  had  one  or 
two  instances  of  that  kind  given  here  today, —  the  kind  of  initiative 
that  leads  one  a  little  too  far  astray  from  the  main  line.  If  we  are 
going  to  travel  on  the  main  line,  we  cannot  suffer  many  shuntings 
by  the  way. 

It  appeals  to  me  this  way,  that  if  a  school  can  maintain  a  connection 
with  the  outline  of  the  lessons,  there  is  still  large  room  for  initiative 
in  dealing  with  the  theme  of  the  lesson  that  has  been  appointed  for 
the  hour.  When  I  am  asked  to  speak  on  any  occasion  among  the 
churches,  I  like  to  have  them  suggest  a  theme,  so  as  to  get  in  touch 
with  what  is  going  on  there.  I  believe  that,  if  we  would  conduct 
these  societies  in  our  schools  on  that  principle,  when  the  young  people 
have  spent  a  year  in  school  and  go  home,  you  would  hear  them  re¬ 
marking  more  often,  "We  develop  the  lesson  in  this  way,”  rather 
than,  “Some  other  subject  is  more  important  than  this  one  on  the 
program.” 

W.  L.  Adams:  I  have  always  believed  in  perfect  organization, 
and  if  things  are  not  organized  according  to  my  plan,  I  will  follow 
the  way  of  the  other  leaders  for  a  while.  I  have  always  tried  to 
work  on  that  plan.  I  believe  this  is  where  a  great  many  of  our  young 
people  fail. 

Then  again,  wherever  our  schools  are  located,  they  should  work 
in  perfect  harmony  with  the  church.  The  church  is  the  first  great 
unit  of  organization,  and  everything  else  —  schools  and  Sabbath 
schools  —  centers  around  our  church.  Even  in  our  large  schools 
we  should  seek  for  perfect*  cooperation  with  the  local  church  in  this 
matter.  Otherwise,  when  the  school  is  out,  you  will  have  no  local 
young  people’s  organization,  and  the  young  people  will  be  left  without 
a  support,  so  to  speak.  Plans  ought  to  be  laid  in  such  a  way  that 
the  work  will  not  be  crippled  when  the  school  closes. 

C.  L.  Stone:  It  occurred  to  me  that  there  are  other  reasons 
far  more  serious  than  those  mentioned  by  Professor  Graf,  why  our 
young  people  do  not  carry  out  the  programs.  I  felt,  when  he  said 
that  he  omitted  the  program  in  order  to  give  an  opportunity  for  those 


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818 

who  had  gone  out  and  earned  scholarships  to  speak  while  they  were 
bubbling  over  with  enthusiasm,  that  that  was  pretty  good.  However, 
I  have  seen  a  number  of  institutions  where  the  social  spirit  had  grown 
up  to  such  an  extent  that  it  needed  something  spicy  to  bring  the 
crowd,  and  unless  they  had  a  program  that  was  somewhat  along  the 
line  of  entertainment,  there  was  only  a  very  small  attendance.  I 
thought  that  Professor  Graf  was  not  so  very  far  out  of  the  way  if 
that  is  the  only  reason  he  has  for  not  following  the  programs. 

H.  S.  Olson:  Last  fall  we  fell  in  line  on  all  except  one  point.  I 
find  the  students  are  very  ready  to  follow  out  suggestions  made  by 
the  teachers,  and  as  teachers  I  believe  we  are  ready  to  follow  out 
suggestions  made  by  the  secretaries. 

M.  E.  Kern:  I  hope  that  our  teachers  will  all  feel  that  they  are 
a  part  of  this  society.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  in  most  of  our  schools 
there  is  no  other  missionary  society,  and  I  think  it  is  a  poor  plan  for 
the  young  people  to  be  organized  for  missionary  work  and  the  teach¬ 
ers  to  be  outside  of  the  society.  That  is  discouraging  to  many  of  the 
young  people.  I  think,  too,  that  the  school  should  have  a  strong 
hand  in  controlling  the  society. 

B.  B.  Davis:  I  believe  there  are  great  possibilities  of  a  closer 
connection  between  the  working  bands  of  the  Senior  and  Junior 
Missionary  Volunteer  Societies.  Last  year  we  had  a  very  pleasant 
experience.  We  had  four  rooms  in  our  training  school;  each  room 
was  organized,  and  we  had  our  regular  meetings.  At  Thanksgiving 
and  Christmas  time  we  joined  with  the  Christian  Help  Band  of  the 
Senior  Society,  and  they  directed  the  work.  They  went  out  and  found 
poor  families.  We  took  the  work  in  our  own  village  first,  and  then 
we  went  into  the  city  of  Walla  Walla,  where  we  found  ten  or  fifteen 
families. 

I  wish  you  could  have  seen  our  schoolrooms  on  the  day  before 
Thanksgiving  and  the  day  before  Christmas.  We  had  a  large  amount 
of  canned  fruit,  and  eatables  of  all  kinds.  We  had  tried  to  awaken 
a  spirit  of  real  sacrifice,  and  the  children  responded.  They  brought 
their  own  toys,  that  they  had  really  enjoyed,  the  things  that  were 
dear  to  their  hearts,  and  gave  them  for  the  sake  of  the  boys  and  girls 
who  did  not  have  such  things.  It  took  about  six  wagons  to  distribute 
the  gifts  that  the  children  had  brought,  and  it  was  an  experience 
that  I  hope  we  may  repeat  every  year. 

I  believe  we  are  just  beginning  on  this  work.  It  has  helped  to 
interest  the  children  in  other  lines  of  Missionary  Volunteer  work. 
I  suppose  fifty  per  cent  of  the  older  boys  and  girls  are  reading  their 
Bibles  through  this  year. 


314 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


O.  J.  Graf:  I  should  like  to  ask  Professor  Kern  if  he  really  be¬ 
lieves  that  we  should  follow  the  iron-clad  rule  of  never  varying  from 
the  lessons.  If  that  is  what  is  expected  of  us,  we  had  better  know  it. 

M.  E.  Kern:  We  have  tried  to  be  flexible,  and  at  the  beginning 
of  our  work  we  did  not  say  anything  if  our  schools  varied  from  the 
lesson  program  considerably;  but  we  have  been  forced  to  change  our 
plan  as  the  result  of  scores  of  experiences.  It  is  actually  a  fact  that 
when  the  students  get  out  of  school,  they  cut  the  cord  between  the 
young  people  and  us.  I  am  just  as  anxious  as  you  are  to  have  the 
schools  develop  initiative,  but  I  am  also  anxious  that  the  Department 
shall  be  allowed  to  do  its  work. 

I  have  not  felt,  personally,  that  this  was  an  iron-clad  rule,  which 
would  brand  a  school  president  with  heresy  if  he  missed  a  single  pro¬ 
gram;  but  I  do  think  these  programs  are  very  effective.  And  aside 
from  a  number  of  special  programs,  such  as  a  Temperance  Instructor 
program,  in  the  fall  a  Standard  of  Attainment  program,  a  Reading 
Course  program,  programs  for  Fourth  of  July,  Thanksgiving,  Educa¬ 
tional  Day,  and  Missionary  Volunteer  Day,  and  two  week  of  prayer 
Sabbaths  dropped  out,  and  a  few  other  occasions, —  aside  from  these, 
we  have  seven  Sabbaths  this  year  for  which  no  program  has  been 
prepared.  We  thought  that  this  would  give  opportunity  for  your 
young  people  who  wish  to  get  up  an  original  program  to  do  so,  and 
still  be  in  harmony  with  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work. 

C.  W.  Irwin:  I  think  we  should  do  it  in  this  way, —  by  their 
facing  our  problem,  and  our  facing  their  problem. 

At  the  Pacific  Union  College  we  have  given  the  chapel  hour  on 
Wednesday,  every  week  throughout  the  whole  history  of  our  school, 
to  this  line  of  work.  We  step  down  gracefully  from  the  platform, 
and  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Society  comes  on  with  its  work,  an  hour 
every  week. 

We  have  been  using  the  Morning  Watch  texts  for  our  Scripture 
lesson  in  the  opening  exercises,  and  I  think  this  plan  has  also  been 
followed  in  the  homes. 

The  program  seems  to  be  the  bone  of  contention  between  us. 
During  the  past  year  we  have  had  in  our  school  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  students,  I  think,  who  had  had,  or  were  taking,  denomi¬ 
national  history  and  Bible  doctrines.  We  decided  that  we  would  carry 
out  those  programs,  and  I  sat  down  here  and  watched  that  thing. 
I  simply  listened  for  several  weeks,  while  it  was  being  tried  out. 
We  had  very  enthusiastic  leadership  in  our  society,  but  I  noticed 
there  was  less  interest  than  there  should  have  been.  Finally  the 
students  began  coming  to  me  and  saying,  “This  is  too  much;  we  do 
not  feel  that  we  can  stand  it  much  longer.  We  like  a  good,  live 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


315 

program,  in  which  the  students  can  take  part  and  have  something 
active  going  on.” 

So  I  say,  I  would  like  to  have  you  look  at  our  problem,  and  then 
we  will  try  to  look  at  your  situation.  When  we  had  a  temperance 
campaign,  the  regular  lessons  were  not  timed  to  meet  the  situation 
out  here.  You  could  not  know  it.  We  knew,  and  so  we  had  to  set 
aside  the  lessons  for  that  time,  and  prepare  a  live  temperance  program. 
Later  on,  there  was  a  religious  liberty  issue  on  here  in  this  State. 
We  had  one  week  set  apart  for  that,  and  we  had  a  live  meeting  on 
religious  liberty. 

It  does  seem  to  me  that  there  should  be  some  latitude  in  this 
matter.  If  you  can  grant  some  latitude,  then  we  on  the  other  side 
should  train  our  students  to  carry  out  the  plan  of  the  Department. 

M.  E.  Kern:  I  think  we  ought  to  remember  that  our  Department 
can  contribute  above  all  other  things  to  the  school  work  the  idea  of 
self-expression.  I  know  that  we  sometimes  feel,  “I  must' conduct 
this  meeting  myself.  I  can  do  it  better  than  the  young  people.” 
While  we  have  a  good  time  doing  that,  it  does  not  follow  that  the 
students  have  a  better  time,  even  though  what  they  do  is  not  well 
arranged  —  though  they  stammer.  They  learn  by  their  own  efforts 
to  do  things. 


HOW  TO  SECURE  EFFICIENT  MISSIONARY 
VOLUNTEER  SECRETARIES 

MEADE  MAC  GUIRE 

In  discussing  this  question,  it  is  my  purpose  to  suggest  a  few 
facts,  which  are  really  self-evident,  but  which  greatly  simplify  this 
problem,  that  has  seemed  almost  as  perplexing  as  it  is  important; 
and  then  to  suggest  what  it  seems  to  me  is  a  most  important  and 
practicable  plan  for  supplying  efficient  secretaries. 

First,  the  needs  of  the  young  people  should  determine  the  require¬ 
ments  of  the  secretary. 

This  may  sound  very  simple,  yet  it  is  a  principle  which  is  often 
ignored.  A  secretary  may  be  chosen  because  he  is  the  "only  one 
available,”  or  because  he  “likes  the  young  people,”  or  is  “already  on 
the  pay  roll,”  or  “to  give  him  a  trial,”  or  a  score  of  other  reasons 
which  have  been  given  here  and  there.  We  would  not  think  of  de¬ 
ciding  in  such  an  inconsistent  way  the  question  of  a  suitable  person 
to  care  for  our  live  stock  or  our  fruit  orchard.  If  the  correct  prin¬ 
ciple  were  followed,  it  might  mean  that  a  conference  would  go  without 
a  secretary  for  a  time,  until  a  thoroughly  competent  one  could  be  found, 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


316 

rather  than  make  a  hasty  choice;  it  would  certainly  be  far  pref¬ 
erable  in  the  end.  As  a  rule,  I  believe  our  work  would  suffer  less 
with  no  secretary  at  all  than  with  one  who  draws  pay  for  services 
never  rendered  or  wholly  unsatisfactory. 

Since  the  needs  of  our  young  people  vary  in  importance,  the 
first  question  is,  What  is  their  supreme  need?  Is  it  preaching,  or 
education,  or  'culture,  or  organization?  T  think  we  will  agree  that 
there  is  one  thing  paramount  to  all  of  these  in  importance.  The 
supreme  need  of  our  young  people  is  — 

Spirituality 

Nothing  else  can  take  its  place.  It  is  positively  dangerous  to  enter 
this  sacred  work  without  it.  No  true  success  can  be  expected  with¬ 
out  it.  The  young  people  can  never  resist  the  current  of  the  world, 
or  cope  with  the  powerful  adversaries  arrayed  against  them,  without 
it.  In  the  personal  life,  in  preparation  and  in  service,  the  key  to  suc¬ 
cess  is  a  constantly  deepening  spirituality. 

I  should  like  to  know  whether  you  agree  with  me  in  this.  Is 
spirituality  the  supreme  consideration?  Is  a  personal  acquaintance 
with  Jesus  Christ  as  a  living  reality,  a  most  intimate  friend,  a  might}' 
answerer  of  prayer — -is  this  paramount?  If  so,  then  the  first  ques¬ 
tions  to  be  asked  in  choosing  a  secretary  will  be,  Is  he  deeply  spiritual? 
Does  he  know  God?  Can  he  remove  mountains?  Does  his  very 
presence  awaken  a  longing  in  the  hearts  of  others  for  a  deeper  Chris¬ 
tian  experience?  Is  he  an  evangelist?  Would  he  rather  win  souls 
than  be  president  of  a  conference.  Is  he  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost? 
Has  he  a  sympathetic,  winning  personality?  All  this  is  embraced  in 
spirituality,  and  without  this  supreme  qualification,  how  can  he  meet 
the  supreme  need? 

Proceeding  to  the  second  great  need  of  our  young  people,  I  should 
say  it  is  — 

Training  for  Service 

It  seems  to  me  a  most  significant  fact  that  we  are  drawing  our 
recruits  today  almost  exclusively  from  our  schools.  It  is  also  signifi¬ 
cant  that  less  than  fifty  per  cent  of  our  young  people  are  in  our 
schools.  Therefore  we  are  utilizing  much  less  than  fifty  per  cent  of 
our  recruiting  resources.  The  remedy  is  not  to  begin  recruiting  from 
the  ranks  of  the  uneducated  and  untrained,  but  to  bring  the  other 
fifty  to  seventy  per  cent  of  our  young  people  into  our  schools,  and 
quickly  prepare  them  for  service. 

I  believe  that  we  have  viewed  this  matter  with  too  complacent  an 
attitude.  We  may  feel  that  where  the  percentage  falls  below  twenty 
or  twenty-five,  it  is  too  low,  and  we  must  put  forth  earnest  efforts  to 


COUNCIL  PKOCEEDINGS 


317 

raise  it;  and  where  it  rises  to  forty  or  forty-five,  we  may  commend 
ourselves  and  fee!  that  we  have  achieved  success.  But  I  believe  we 
should  never  rest  satisfied  a  moment  until  one  hundred  per  cent  of 
our  young  people  of  suitable  age  and  capacity  are  receiving  adequate 
perparation  for  service  in  this  cause. 

If  this  is  to  be  accomplished,  our  Missionary  Volunteer  secretaries 
must  certainly  be  trained  men.  They  must  be  specialists ,  with  all 
the  significance  we  can  give  the  word.  One  who  alternates  between 
tent  master,  school-teacher,  office  secretary,  farmer,  and  Missionary 
Volunteer  secretary,  can  never  satisfactorily  meet  the  requirements. 
He  must  give  his  life  to  the  young  people  with  all  the  abandon  of 
self-renunciation  and  passionate  devotion  that  characterized  Liv¬ 
ingstone’s  gift  to  Africa  or  Judson’s  gift  to  Burma.  He  should  know 
that  he  has  a  call  from  God,  and  should  see  in  the  great  host  of  young 
people  one  of  the  mightiest  resources  for  finishing  the  work  and  bring¬ 
ing  glory  to  God. 

The  third  great  need  is  — 

Organization 

Next  to  conversion  and  training  comes  organization,  in  the  broad 
sense.  It  is  not  enough  for  a  secretary  to  go  about  giving  interesting 
talks  and  presenting  pleasing  theories.  He  must  be  a  practical 
organizer,  a  leader  after  that  excellent  definition, —  One  who  knows 
the  way,  who  goes  ahead,  and  who  causes  others  to  follow.  Over 
and  over  again  I  have  visited  churches  where  the  young  people  were 
half  organized  and  in  confusion.  They  said  the  Missionary  Volunteer 
secretary  had  visited  them  several  times,  but  had  said  nothing  about 
the  details  of  the  society  work.  After  following  him  about  for  a  time, 
I  concluded  that  he  did  not  know  much  about  these  details  himself. 
He  seemed  to  be  interested  in  other  things,  or  to  be  too  indefinite  in 
what  he  said  to  give  any  practical  help  to  society  officers. 

To  recapitulate  in  a  few  sentences:  — 

The  needs  of  the  young  people  should  determine  the  requirements 
of  the  secretaries. 

The  supreme  need  of  the  young  people  is  spirituality;  therefore  we 
must  look  for  a  deeply  spiritual  man,  an  evangelist,  an-  untiring  soul 
winner,  or  at  least  one  who  we  have  reason  to  believe  is  rapidly  de¬ 
veloping  that  way. 

The  second  great  need  is  education;  therefore  the  secretary  should 
have  an  education  and  a  vision  that  will  make  his  life  a  mighty  in¬ 
spiration  to  all  young  people  to  seek  a  training  for  the  Lord’s  work. 

The  third  need  is  organization;  therefore  the  secretary  should  be 
a  leader,  an  enthusiastic  organizer,  a  zealous  missionary. 


318 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Now  where  are  wo  to  look  for  strong  young  men  . and  women,  who 
have  spirituality,  education,  and  executive  ability?  Naturally  we 
turn  to  our  schools.  Our  colleges  and  academies  must  furnish  these 
most  important  and  valuable  workers,  to  gather  into  the  fold  and 
train  and  organize  our  great  youthful  forces.  I  will  make  a  few 
suggestions  about  how  I  believe  this  may  be  accomplished. 

First,  we  must  secure  the  cooperation  of  our  college  faculties. 
Judging  from  a  very  limited  experience,  I  believe  this  will  not  be 
difficult.  The  college  president  can  readily  see  that  when  the  most 
spiritual  and  capable  young  men  who  graduate  from  his  school  are 
placed  in  charge  of  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work  in  the  conferences 
comprising  its  constituency,  strong  influences  will  be  set  to  work  to 
fill  up  his  school  and  keep  it  full.  Furthermore,  the  best  ideals  of 
the  college  will  be  held  up  before  the  people,  young  and  old,  in  the 
person  of  the  secretary.  He  will  be  able  to  give  the  practical  in¬ 
formation  regarding  the  school,  courses  of  study,  rules  of  conduct, 
expenses,  etc.,  which  are  desired  by  parents  and  students.  His  life 
will  exert  a  most  salutary  influence  as  the  young  people  see  what  may 
be  accomplished  by  consecrated  education. 

Second,  we  must  make  frequent  visits  to  our  colleges  and  acade: 
rnies,  to  hold  before  the  students  a  vision  of  the  importance  and  possi¬ 
bilities  of  the  Missionary  Volunteer  secretaryship.  We  must  lay 
broad  plans  for  the  future;  for  the  strength  of  an  army  is  measured 
largely  by  the  ability  and  efficiency  of  its  officers.  We  have  a  great 
number  of  young  people  out  in  the  world  today  who  would  have  made 
real  generals  in  our  work  had  their  talents  and  ambitions  been  directed  ^ 
to  this  splendid  field  of  service.  I  do  not  know  of  any  line  of  work  in 
this  cause  which  holds  out  a  more  unlimited  field  for  consecrated 
ambition  than  the  Missionary  Volunteer  secretaryship. 

Third,  we  must  maintain  strong  Missionary  Volunteer  Societies 
in  these  schools.  In  many  of  our  schools  in  the  past  the  society  has 
been  organized  only  partially  in  harmony  with  our  general  plans. 

If  our  work  as  now  planned  cannot  be  carried  out  successfully  in  our 
training  schools,  let  us  make  such  alterations  in  our  plans  and  methods 
that  the  strongest,  most  aggressive,  most  successful  societies  may  be 
found  where  the  largest  bodies  of  our  students  are  gathered  together. 
The  Testimonies  have  spoken  of  the  great  service  the  Missionary 
Volunteer  organization  can  render  our  educational  institutions,  and 
I  am  sure  much  more  can  be  done  by  hearty  and  active  cooperation. 

Fourth,  we  must  have  a  course  of  lessons  and  maintain  a  Mission¬ 
ary  Volunteer  training  class  in  each  of  our  colleges  for  the  benefit  of 
those  young  people  who  give  their  lives  to  the  work  and  wish  to  secure 
all  the  preparation  possible,  while  in  school.  Surely,  if  a  church- 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


319 


school  teacher,  with  from  six  to  twenty  pupils,  needs  two  years  of 
special  normal  training,  which  we  all  admit,  then  one  who  may  have 
from  three  hundred  to  eight  hundred  young  people  under  his  care, 
the  majority  of  whom  are  not  in  Christian  schools,  and  many  not 
even  in  Christian  homes,  needs  some  special  preparation  and  help. 
When  all  realize  as  they  should  that  the  Missionary  Volunteer  secre¬ 
taryship  is  a  profession  of  vast  responsibility  and  unlimited  possi¬ 
bilities  for  success  or  failure,  we  shall  make  more  rapid  progress.  If 
the  young  people  in  these  classes  do  vigorous,  aggressive  work  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Society  in  the  school,  it  should 
make  them  practical  workers,  ready  to  assume  responsibilities  in  the 
field  as  soon  as  school  closes. 

A  fifth  essential  remains  to  be  mentioned,  which  is,  that  in  order 
to  carry  out  this  policy  we  must  secure  the  active  cooperation  of  local 
and  union  conference  administrations.  Under  the  pressure  and 
strain  of  their  manifold  duties,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  if  some 
conference  officers  appear  to  forget  the  importance  of  this  position 
and  the  ideals  we  are  seeking  to  attain;  but  we  must  pray  and  work 
and  persevere  until  secretaries  are  trained  who  know  the  way,  wdio  will 
go  ahead,  and  who  will  cause  others  to  follow.  And  when  we  provide 
the  right  kind  of  material,  I  believe  we  shall  find  the  administrative 
officers  glad  enough  to  accept  them,  and  give  them  every  possible 
advantage  and  encouragement. 


HOW  TO  MAKE  OUR  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 
ORGANIZATION  MORE  EFFECTIVE 
IN  THE  FIELD 

M.  E.  KERN 

To  make  our  Missionary  Volunteer  organization  more  effective 
in  the  field,  we,  as  secretaries,  must  be  more  efficient  workers.  Sec¬ 
retaries,  to  be  efficient,  must  have  a  large  and  true  conception  of 
their  work,  and  a  preparation  for  it.  They  must  believe  that  in 
the  Missionary  Volunteer  secretaryship  there  is  room  for  a  career 
of  surpassing  usefulness,  and  apply  themselves  to  their  preparation 
and  to  their  work  in  harmony  with  this  belief.  It  seems  to  me  that 
there  is  no  limit  to  the  possibilities  before  a  godly,  conscientious, 
well-trained  secretary.  I  remember  in  the  early  days  of  this  work 
we  sometimes-  had  to  plead  with  conferences  to  elect  a  secretary. 
The  question  was  often  asked,  “What  will  the  young  people’s  sec¬ 
retary  do?’’  But  the  question  now  is  rather,  “What  is  it  that  an 
efficient  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary  cannot  do?” 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


;',2o 


The  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  has  this  to  say  about 
the  qualifications  of  secretaries  for  its  work:  “It  demands  the  best 
young  men  that  business  life  'and  the  colleges  of  this  country  can 
produce.  It  offers  opportunities  for  the  religious  zeal  of  the  minis¬ 
try,  the  enterprise  of  the  business  man,  and  the  administrative  quali¬ 
ties  and  versatility  of  the  college  president.  No  man  has  yet  appeared 
too  good  or  great  for  this  office.”  Every  word  of  That  can  be  applied 
to  the  Missionary  Volunteer  secretaryship.  I  can  go  farther,  and  say 
that  no  man  has  yet  appeared  in  our  ranks  good  enough  for  the  office. 

On  the  question  of  training,  this  writer  goes  on  to  say:  “The 
chief  reason  for  the  failure  of  so  many  men  who  have  entered  Asso¬ 
ciation  work  in  the  past  has  been  from  a  lack  of  proper  preparation 
and  training.  The  experience  of  the  Association  in  this  respect  is 
not  unique.  President  Eliot  has  said:  ‘As  a  people,  we  do  not  apply 
to  mental  activities  the  principle  of  the  division  of  labor,  and  we 
have  but  a  halting  faith  in  special  training  for  high  professional 
employments.  The  vulgar  conceit  that  a  Yankee  can  turn  his  hand 
to  anything,  we  insensibly  try  to  carry  into  high  places,  where  it 
is  preposterous  and  criminal.  What  amount  of  knowledge  or  ex¬ 
perience  do  we  habitually  demand  of  our  legislators  or  diplomatists? 
Only  after  years  of  bitterest  experience  did  we  come  to  believe  the 
professional  training  of  a  soldier  to  be  of  value  in  war.  This  lack 
of  faith  in  the  value  of  a  discipline  concentrated  upon  a  single  object 
amounts  to  a  national  danger.’  ” 

If  that  can  be  truthfully  said  of  the  world  in  general,  it  seems  to  me  • 
it  can  be  more  truthfully  said  of  us,  for  we  are  almost  afraid  of  the  word 
“specialization.”  I  have  been  thankful  to  hear  Elder  Evans  express 
his  conviction  that  a  man  ought  to  find  his  place  and  stay  by  it. 
Not  that  there  should  never  be  changes  in  our  work,  for  surely  the 
Lord  calls  individuals  from  one  work  to  another.  We  should,  how¬ 
ever,  recognize  thorough  preparation  and  continuity  of  service  as 
requisites  to  efficiency. 

“For  many  years,  in  the  ministry,  in  medicine,  and  in  law, 
young  men  preparing  for  these  callings  studied  with  individual  pastors, 
physicians,  or  lawyers.  The  young  divinity  student  made  calls 
with  his  pastor,  worked  in  his  study,  and  helped  in  the  public  service 
of  the  parish.  The  medical  student  accompanied  his  master  as  he 
visited  patients,  and  the  young  law  student  attended  court  with 
his  instructor.  This  method  gave  practical  experience,  but  the 
student  was  limited  to  the  direction  of  one  leader,  and  it  was  found 
that  men  engaged  in  the  active  practice  of  their  profession  could 
give  but  scant  time  to  the  instruction  of  students.  So  it  came  about 
gradually  in  law,  in  theology,  in  medicine,  and  later  in  teaching, 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


321 


that  schools  were  established  for  .  the  training  of  men  for  these  im¬ 
portant  callings.  It  has  been  found  that  preparation  for  a  life  work 
is  of  such  vital  moment  that  it  cannot  be  left  to  the  casual  hours  of 
men  who  give  their  chief  thought  and  energy  elsewhere.” 

I  was  interested  in  a  few  statistics  given  by  this  Association 
writer:  — 

“A  commission  of  Association  secretaries,  after  a  year’s  study  on 
the  subject  of  vocational  training,  reported  at  the  employed  officers’ 
conference  held  at  Columbus  in  June,  1911,  that  college  graduates 
were  twice  as  likely  to  succeed  as  Association  officers  if  they  secured 
a  technical  training.  Only  one  college  graduate  in  four  who  enters 
Association  service  without  a  technical  training  remains  five  years. 
Graduates  of  Springfield  College  [a  school  for  the  training  of  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  secretaries]  remain  in  three  times  as  long,  on  the  average,  as  men 
entering  Association  service  from  other  spheres  in  life.”  So  I  believe 
that  we  ought  to  have  as  our  ideal  the  special  training  of  our  secre¬ 
taries  for  their  work. 

Perhaps  the  next  element  of  success  after  thorough  preparation 
is  definite  planning  for  the  work.  Some  one  has  said:  — 

“Do  not  falter  or  shirk, 

Do  not  loiter  or  shrink; 

But  think  out  your  work, 

Then  work  out  your  think.” 

That  is  good  advice  for  Missionary  Volunteer  secretaries.  Every 
one  should  have  a  definite  policy  to  work  to.  Do  you  not  find  that 
you  can  accomplish  more  in  a  day  if  you  outline  what  you  plan  to 
do,  and  work  to  that  program? 

I  was  interested  the  other  day  in  reading  an  article  by  Amos  R. 
Wells  on  “How  to  Keep  on  Top  of  Your  Work.”  It  is  an  excellent 
article  by  an  exceedingly  busy  man,  who  has  the  reputation  of  keep¬ 
ing  on  top  of  his  work,  and  pushing  his  work,  instead  of  having  his 
work  push  him.  One  suggestion  that  appealed  to  me  was  that, 
aside  from  having  a  program  of  the  day’s  work,  one  should  keep  a 
record  of  what  was  actually  accomplished.  Doubtless  the  stimu¬ 
lating  effect  of  such  a  record  would  be  very  helpful.  We  do  our  best 
work  under  pressure.  As  secretaries  who  very  largely  have  the 
management  of  our  own  work,  we  ought  to  apply  the  pressure  to 
ourselves.  We  ought  to  have  a  time  to  do  things,  and  do  them  at 
that  time.  Unless  we  plan  carefully,  we  sometimes  find  our  work 
congested,  with  many  things  demanding  attention  which  cannot 
be  accomplished. 

21 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


322 

We  need  to  study  the  question  of  efficiency.  The  efficiency 
movement,  which  is  so  prominent  just  now,  has  developed  some  very 
good  literature  along  this  line,  which  is  well  worth  reading. 

In  order  to  get  good  results  in  the  field,  we  must,  of  course, 
have  the  privilege  of  doing  field  work.  I  do  not  discredit  in  the 
least  the  value  of  correspondence  work.  But  our  Missionary  Volun¬ 
teer  work  is  a  personal,  heart-to-heart,  soul-winning  effort,  and  our 
secretaries  cannot  do  effective  work  unless  they  have  the  privilege 
of  meeting  the  young  people  in  the  field  where  they  are.  1  believe 
that  we  ought  to  have  a  wholesome  combination  of  office  and  field 
work.  Both  are  essential. 

I  think  that  every  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary  should,  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  get  a  complete  census  of  the  young  people  of  his 
field.  We  have  general  and  individual  blanks  for  that  purpose. 
If  you  work  at  it  long  enough,  you  can  get  a  list  of  nearly  all  the 
young  people  in  your  conference.  And  having  obtained  such  a  list, 
I  think  we  should  make  it  the  basis  of  vigorous  work  for  the  young 
people. 

A  few  years  ago  I  gathered  a  list  of  about  three  thousand  young 
people  in  the  Central  Union  Conference.  1  did  not  have  time  to 
write  to  them  all  personally,  so  I  divided  the  list  into  classes, — 
those  over  sixteen,  and  those  under  sixteen, —  and  wrote  circular 
letters  to  these  classes.  I,  of  course,  wrote  personally  to  certain 
ones,  also.  It  was  really  gratifying  to  me  to  see  the  results  that 
came  from  those  circular  letters.  I  remember  once  when  walking 
down  the  aisle  of  the  big  tent  on  the  Kansas  camp  ground,  I  spoke 
to  two  young  girls  who  looked  rather  bashful.  T  asked  them  their 
names,  and  told  them  mine.  They  said, — 

“O,  we  have  heard  from  you,  but  we  are  very  sorry  to  say  that 
we  did  not  answer  your  letters.” 

“That’s  all  right,”  I  said,  “I  send  out  many  more  letters  than 
I  receive.” 

“But,”  said  they,  “your  letters  did  us  good  anyway.  We  were 
just  getting  into  the  habit  of  reading  novels  from  the  public  library 
when  you  sent  us  a  letter  on  the  value  of  good  reading,  and  we  quit 
reading  the  novels.” 

Many  instances  like  this  could  be  given,  where,  even  by  cor¬ 
respondence,  excellent  results  have  been  obtained. 

I  have  often  thought  of  how  a  young  man  who  is  now  one  of  our 
teachers  was  first  brought  into  touch  with  our  work.  He  lived  on 
the  frontier  in  one  of  our  Central  Western  conferences.  The  young 
people’s  secretary  of  that  conference  had  individual  information 
blanks  put  up  in  tablet  form,  asking  for  the  names  of  young  people 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


323 

and  certain  other  information.  He  gave  one  of  these  tablets  to  each 
conference  worker.  He  talked  with  these  workers,  and  requested 
them  to  send  him  information  regarding  any  young  people  they  thought 
he  could  help.  A  minister  found  this  young  man  I  have  referred  to, 
and  sent  in  his  name.  Correspondence  was  begun,  the  young  man 
came  to  college,  and  has  been  in  the  Lord’s  work  ever  since  he  left 
the  school.  I  have  often  thought  of  this  as  an  illustration  of  the 
cooperation  that  should  exist  between  the  conference  ministers  and 
the  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary. 

At  the  time  the  list  of  names  referred  to  above  was  gathered. 
Mrs.  Kern  was  registrar  at  Union  College.  She  began  a  plan  of 
systematic  correspondence  with  the  young  people  whose  names  were 
on  that  list.  I  remember  she  was  especially  impressed  with  the  name 
of  one  young  woman  who  was  about  to  finish  the  high  school  course, 
and  felt  that  she  should  get  that  young  woman  into  the  college. 
She  wrote  her,  but  did  not  receive  an  answer.  Shortly  afterward, 
she  wrote  her  again.  In  fact,  she  wrote  several  letters.  Some  time 
later  that  young  woman  came  to  the  college.  She  said  she  would 
never  have  been  there  had  it  not  been  for  Mrs.  Kern’s  persistent 
efforts  in  keeping  up  that  correspondence.  This  young  woman  and 
her  husband  have  for  several  years  been  doing  efficient  service  in 
our  educational  work. 

Such  a  list  is  of  value  in  the  field  work  also.  You  can  record 
the  lists  from  the  different  churches  in  the  loose-leaf  book  prepared 
by  the  Department,  or  something  like  it.  You  should  carefully 
restudy  the  list  from  a  church  before  visiting  that  church,  noting 
carefully  the  record  of  your  correspondence,  etc.  Such  preparation 
forms  the  basis  for  a  good  week’s  work  in  a  church  where  there  are 
a  number  of  young  people. 

Be  thorough  in  your  work.  Do  not  miss  a  single  young  person. 
I  wonder  sometimes  if  Samuel  would  ever  have  found  David  if  the 
Lord  had  not  interposed.  Jesse,  when  asked  whether  all  his  children 
were  present,  said,  “ There  remaineth  yet  the  youngest,  and,  behold, 
he  keepeth  the  sheep.”  I  do  not  think  we  ought  to  omit  even  the 
little  fellows  who  may  be  tending  the  sheep.  We  ought  in  some  way 
to  get  to  the  homes  of  all  these  young  people.  It  does  a  world  ot 
good  for  us  to  get  into  the  homes.  We  ought  to  meet  the  parents, 
for  they  frequently  need  spiritual  help,  and  their  attitude  and  ex¬ 
perience  usually  determine  the  future  of  their  children.  If  you 
find  that  your  list  is  not  complete,  be  sure  to  secure  the  missing  names 
and  information  about  them.  Your  work  for  the  young  people  of 
that  church  is  only  well  begun.  The  young  people  of  your  conference 
constitute  your  field  for  continuous  and  intensive  cultivation. 


324 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


The  first  church  that  I  ever  visited  in  the  interests  of  young 
people,  was  in  central  Kansas,  where  the  view  out  over  the  country 
as  far  as  you  could  see  was  unobstructed.  There  had  never  been 
a  young  person  from  that  church  in  Union  College.  I  held  meetings 
in  the  evenings,  and  during  the  day  went  from  home  to  home  over 
those  great  prairies.  I  tried  to  visit  all  the  young  people  in  their 
homes.  I  think  there  were  seven  who  came  from  that  church  to 
Union  College  the  next  fall,  and  up  to  a  few  years  ago  there  had  not 
been  a  year  since  that  time  that  there  had  not  been  some  represent¬ 
ative  of  that  church  in  LTnion  College.  There  were  also  several 
who  went  to  the  school  in  Keene. 

To  make  our  Missionary  Volunteer  work  effective  in  the  field, 
let  us  be  thorough,  combining  earnest  personal  work  with  public 
evangelistic  efforts.  Our  Missionary  Volunteer  secretaries  ought  to 
study  the  problems  of  the  home.  We  need,  of  course,  to  exercise 
great  care  lest  we  give  a  wrong  impression;  but  there  are  many  ways 
that  we  can  help  if  we  know  how,  and  if  we  have  tact  and  wisdom. 
A  great  many  of  our  young  people  are  like  the  boy  who  went  down  the 
river  on  a  raft  with  his  father.  Some  one  asked  him  where  he  was 
brought  up.  He  replied,  “I  wasn’t  brought  up  at  all;  I  just  came 
down  the  river  with  dad  on  a  raft.”  There  are  a  great  many  boys 
and  girls  who  are  just  drifting  along  with  a  careless  father  or  a  heed¬ 
less  mother. 

This  home  problem,  dear  friends,  lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  our 
work,  and  we  must  prepare  ourselves  to  do  effective  work  along  this 
line.  We  can  do  it,  if  we  realize  its  importance.  I  see  before  me 
some  whom  I  have  known  in  school.  I  dare  say  that  most  of  your 
education  was  obtained  after  you  left  school.  If  we  find  ourselves 
unprepared  to  help  the  parents  with  their  problems  or  to  give  the 
young  people  the  real  uplift  which  they  need,  let  us  bestir  ourselves, 
and  get  some  more  education.  We  ought  to  study  to  show  ourselves 
approved  unto  God.  We  ought  not  to  allow  ourselves  to  go  along 
in  a  slipshod  way,  for  we  shall  have  to  give  account  for  the  things  we 
might  have  done  as  well  as  for  the  things  we  have  done. 

I  have  come  to  believe  that  there  is  no  question  in  which  our 
people  are  more  interested  than  in  their  home  life,  and  how  to  really 
bring  up  their  children.  And  while  most  of  us  do  not  want  to  go 
around  giving  lectures  on  child  training  as  such,  we  can  help  in  many 
ways,  if  we  know  how. 

There  was  a  noble  Christian  woman  who  had  reared  seven  stal¬ 
wart  Christian  young  men.  Being  asked  how  she  did  it,  she  replied, 
“I  did  it  with  much  prayer  and  a  good  hickory.”  Many  of  our  par¬ 
ents  are  devoted,  but  they  lack  firmness  of  purpose.  They  do  not 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


325 


understand  the  proper  relation  between  mercy  and  justice.  Many 
parents  have  very  few  well-defined  ideas  on  the  subject  of  child  cul¬ 
ture.  The  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary  should  be  a  student  of 
child  and  adolescent  life,  and  should  understand  parents’  problems. 

Perhaps  our  greatest  need  in  the  field  is  that  of  efficient  society 
officers.  As  we  visit  the  churches,  we  must  study  the  young  people 
to  know  who  will  make  the  best  officers,  exercising  great  care  not 
to  look  on  the  outward  appearances  merely.  We  should  also  take 
great  pains  in  instructing  the  officers.  I  hope  the  time  will  come 
when  we  can  have  little  schools  of  Missionary  Volunteer  methods. 
The  Epworth  League  is  doing  it.  Every  summer  there  is  an  increasing 
number  of  these  institutes  held  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
and  they  are  doing  much  to  build  up  the  Methodist  young  people. 
The  weakest  place  in  our  church  organization,  I  believe,  is  in  the 
local  church.  I  hope  the  time  will  soon  come  when  we  can  do  some¬ 
thing  more  definite  than  we  are  now  doing  in  the  training  of  our  local 
leaders. 

I  want  to  say  a  word  about  the  work  of  the  union  secretary. 
When  this  Department  was  organized,  we  took  the  work  over  from  the 
Sabbath  School  Department.  That  department  has  no  union  con¬ 
ference  secretaries,  so  of  course  we  had  none.  But  from  time  to  time, 
union  secretaries  have  been  elected.  Sometimes  that  was  all  there 
was  to  it, —  they  were  just  elected,  and  we  seldom  heard  from  them. 
They  were  loaded  down  with  other  work,  or  for  some  reason  were 
not  very  active.  From  the  beginning  until  now,  we  have  dealt  with 
the  local  conference  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary.  We  have  con¬ 
sidered  the  union  secretaries  as  field  men.  All  the  general  instruc¬ 
tions  which  we  have  sent  out  in  the  way  of  circular  letters  have  been 
sent  also  to  the  union  secretaries,  and  we  have  urged  the  local  con¬ 
ference  secretaries  to  send  a  copy  of  the  quarterly  reports  to  the 
union  secretary,  so  that  he  might  keep  in  touch  with  them.  We 
have  considered  the  union  secretary  to  be  the  special  representative 
of  the  Department  in  his  union  conference,  to  do  evangelistic  work 
in  the  field  and  to  render  special  help  to  the  conference  Missionary 
Volunteer  secretaries.  These  union  secretaries,  where  they  have 
been  active,  have  done  excellent  work. 

We  in  the  general  office  have  felt  that  inasmuch  as  every  union 
conference  has  a  union  secretary,  it  is  time  to  put  more  responsibility 
into  the  hands  of  this  officer.  We  feel  that  some  of  the  details  of 
the  work  that  we  are  carrying  in  the  Washington  office  can  be  done 
by  the  union  Missionary  Volunteer  secretaries.  1  will  not  take 
time  to  outline  the  plan.  Of  course,  it  would  involve  this  to  begin 
with, —  that  we  should  look  to  the  union  secretary  for  our  quarterly 


326 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


reports,  rather  than  to  the  local  secretary.  When  we  apportion  the 
goal,  we  should  apportion  it  to  the  union  conference,  rather  than  to 
the  local  conferences,  and  there  it  would  be  divided  and  apportioned 
to  the  local  conferences. 

I  think  that  the  placing  of  more  responsibility  on  the  union  secre¬ 
tary  in  this  definite  way  will  result  in  the  development  of  better  and 
more  active  union  secretaries.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  time  has 
come  for  this  change  in  our  plan  of  organization.  I  believe  that  it 
will  result  in  bringing  about  a  better  and  more  efficient  organization 
in  the  field. 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  THE  MORNING  WATCH 

MATILDA  ERICKSON 

The  Supreme  Privilege 

The  possibilities  of  the  Morning  Watch!  But  how  can  we  measure 
them?  The  Morning  Watch  is  prayer  under  the  most  favorable  cir¬ 
cumstances  and  at  the  most  opportune  time;  and  as  long  as  all  things 
are  possible  with  God,  all  things  are  possible  through  prayer.  “One 
of  the  world’s  renowned  scientists  has  recently  declared  that  prayer  is 
the  mightiest  power  in  the  universe,  and  that  the  Christian  world  is 
blind  to  this  fact.”  One  thing  is  sure;  No  Christian  can  make  the 
most  of  life  unless  he  makes  the  most  of  prayer.  For  while  life  is 
measured  by  the  service  put  into  it,  genuine  Christian  service  can 
proceed  only  from  the  life  that  has  unbroken  communion  with  heaven. 
The  wire  that  makes  the  connection  is  prayer.  Therefore  the  morn¬ 
ing  watch  must  be  one  of  the  Christian’s  supreme  privileges;  but  he 
can  never  realize  its  full  possibilities  until  he  looks  upon  that  morning 
appointment  with  God  as  an  absolute  necessity. 

Prayer  and  Service 

We  make  much  of  service,  and  it  is  right  that  we  should.  Christ 
said,  “I  am  among  you  as  he  that  serveth.”  We  should  copy  this 
aspect  of  his  life. 

We  are  saved  to  serve,  but  only  the  service  that  is  saturated  with 
prayer  counts;  for,  after  all,  “God’s  greatest  agency  for  winning  men 
back  to  himself  is  the  prayers  of  other  men.”  Luther,  when  exceed¬ 
ingly  busy,  spent  more  hours  than  usual  in  prayer;  Whitefield  and 
Livingstone  died  upon  their  knees;  Baxter  tinted  the  walls  of  his 
study  with  the  breath  of  prayer.  And  all  these  workers  arose  from 
their  knees,  and  wrought  miracles  on  the  hearts  of  their  fellow  men. 
R.  F.  Horton,  in  “Victory  in  Christ,”  says;  “I  think  all  the  victors 
who  have  overcome,  whose  bright  names  star  the  heavens  and  will 


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327 


shine  forever  and  ever,  made  and  kept  their  hours  of  prayer.  If 
these  souls  had  not  insisted  on  being  alone  in  deep  mid-silence  be¬ 
tween  themselves  and  God,  their  great  deeds  might  never  have  been 
attempted,  and  it  is  sure  that  they  could  never  have  been  done.” 

The  Life  That  Wins 

However,  the  Christian’s  first  duty  is  not  serving  but  living;  for 
back  of  all  service  must  be  the  life  that  wins.  As  Bishop  Hannington 
purchased  the  way  into  Uganda  with  his  life,  so  every  Christian 
must  purchase  a  way  to  successful  Christian  service  with  the  life  that 
wins.  He  who  would  be  a  Henry  Martyn  in  service  must  live  Henry 
Martyn’s  life.  He  who  would  be  a  successful  soul-winner  must  live 
the  life  of  a  successful  soul-winner  —  must  live  the  life  that  wins. 

But  “there  is  only  one  life  that  wins;  and  that  is  the  life  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Every  man  may  have  that  life;  every  man  may  live  that  life.” 
To  live  that  life  means  to  get  rid  of  sin,  and  sin  is  the  greatest  power  in 
the  world  except  God;  but  as  surely  as  the  telescope  can  find  a  star  in 
the  heavens,  so  surely  can  a  soul  find  its  God.  Keeping  in  touch  with 
God  is  the  secret  of  this  life.  “Prayer  is  the  unseen  wire  stretched 
from  the  very  heart  of  God  to  the  heart  of  man.  It  is  just  as  real  and 
certain  as  electricity  and  gravitation.  It  is  no  more  mysterious;  it  is 
no  less  practical.  It  is  just  as  reasonable  to  expect  to  accomplish 
something  by  this  means  as  by  any  other  law  or  invention.” 

Test  the  Connection 

Prayer  is  the  great  reality  of  life.  The  Christian  is  a  diver;  every 
day  he  is  plunged  into  conditions  that  tend  to  crush  out  his  spiritual 
life.  His  safety  depends  upon  his  connection  with  heaven.  Every 
day  he  should  test  this  connection,  and  make  sure  that  it  is  safe 
for  him  to  drop  into  the  day  with  its  problems  and  perplexities. 
You  must  not  “face  the  day  until  you  have  faced  God,  nor  look  into 
the  face  of  others  until  you  have  looked  into  his.  You  cannot  expect 
to  be  victorious  if  the  day  begins  only  in  your  own  strength,”  says  one 
writer;  and  Rev.  T.  L.  Cuvier  says:  “The  true  Christian  goes  to  his 
closet  both  for  his  panoply  and  his  ‘rations’  for  the  day’s  march  and 
its  inevitable  conflicts.” 

A  Christian  who  must  have  learned  from  experience  the  value  of 
the  morning  watch,  once  said:  “If  the  quiet  hour  does  not  prelude 
the  day  of  activity,  we  shall  grow  fussy  and  fevered  in  our  service  to 
men.  Our  vitality  will  be  exhausted,  and  some  of  our  power  will  be 
coarsened.  We  shall  lose  our  faith,  and  with  our  faith,  we  shall  lose 
our  strength.”  “  Extreme  busy-ness,”  says  R.  L.  Stevenson,  “whether 
at  kirk  or  in  the  market,  is  a  symptom  of  deficient  vitality.” 


328 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Morning  Watch  Observed 

The  experience  of  Christians  in  all  ages  emphasizes  the  importance 
of  keeping  the  Morning  Watch  faithfully.  God  said  to  Moses:  “Be 
ready  in  the  morning,  and  come  up  in  the  morning  into  Mount  Sinai, 
and  present  thyself  there  to  me  in  the  top  of  the  mount.  And  no  man 
shall  come  up  with  thee.”  Ex.  34:2,  3.  He  was  to  meet  God  alone  in 
the  mount.  He  did,  and  when  he  returned,  his  face  shone.  David 
says,  “In  the  morning  will  I  direct  my  prayer  unto  thee,  and  will  look 
up”  (Ps.  5:3);  and  again,  “Cause  me  to  hear  thy  loving-kindness 
in  the  morning;  for  in  thee  do  I  trust:  cause  me  to  know  the  way 
wherein  I  should  walk;  for  I  lift  up  my  soul  unto  thee.” 

Isaiah  had  his  morning  appointments  with  God;  for  he  tells  us, 
“He  wakeneth  morning  by  morning,  he  wakeneth  my  ear  to  hear  as 
the  learned.”  Isa.  50:4.  To  Daniel  the  morning  prayer  was  so  im¬ 
portant  an  appointment  that  he  would  rather  be  cast  into  the  lions’  den 
than  fail  to  observe  it.  Of  our  Saviour,  the  maker  of  heaven  and  earth, 
it  is  recorded  that  “in  the  morning,  rising  up  a  great  while  before  day, 
he  went  out,  and  departed  into  a  solitary  place,  and  there  prayed.” 
Mark  1 :  35. 

It  is  said  that  during  the  last  forty  years  of  his  life  Wesley  rose  at 
four  o’clock,  and  spent  from  one  to  two  hours  in  devotional  Bible 
study  and  prayer.  John  Quincy  Adams,  who  studied  his  Bible  in  the 
morning,  said  of  this  custom:  “  It  seems  to  me  the  most  suitable  manner 
of  beginning  the  day.”  Some  one  has  said  that  for  sixty  years  Glad¬ 
stone  went  every  morning  to  the  nearest  chapel  or  church  for  his 
morning  prayer.  J.  Hudson  Taylor  would  not  let  the  duties  that  well- 
nigh  crushed  him  crowd  out  his  morning  watch.  To  him  it  was  an 
absolute  necessity.  During  most  busy  seasons  he  was  known  to  rise 
at  three  o’clock  for  an  hour  of  Bible  study  and  prayer. 

Revolutionizes  Life 

It  is  possible  for  the  Morning  Watch  —  for  Christ  through  the 
Morning  Watch  —  to  revolutionize  our  lives  at  their  weakest  points. 
“In  the  Morning  Watch  appointment,  faithfully  kept,”  as  Gordon 
says,  “lies  the  great  secret  of  riding  masterfully  upon  the  tide  that 
surges  around  us  so  fiercely,  instead  of  being  sucked  under  by  it.  And 
between  the  two  tide  alternatives  every  one  must  choose.”  It  is  too 
late  for  the  soldier  to  buckle  on  his  armor  and  hunt  up  his  equipment 
when  the  enemy  is  upon  him.  He  must  be  prepared.  So  must  the 
Christian.  And  prayer  is  the  best  preparation  he  can  make  for  meet¬ 
ing  the  events  of  the  day.  Prayer  will  help  him  to  do  his  work,  bear 
his  burdens,  solve  his  problems,  and  sweeten  his  pleasures. 


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;^29 


Then,  too,  the  morning  hour  seems  especially  fitted  for  prayer. 
It  is  the  quiet  part  of  the  day.  The  toil  and  disappointments  of 
yesterday  lie  hidden  behind  the  curtain  of  night,  and  the  cares  of  today 
have  not  yet  overtaken  us.  All  about  us  seems  to  say,  “Be  still, 
and  know  that  I  am  God.” 

Getting  the  Most  Out  of  Prayer 

Yes,  it  is  possible  for  Christ  through  the  Morning  Watch  to  rev¬ 
olutionize  the  lives  of  our  young  people;  but  to  get  the  most  out  of 
the  Morning  Watch  we  must  enter  that  chamber  of  secret  prayer  in 
faith;  for  prayer  needs  faith  for  its  answer.  Mere  words  do  not  con¬ 
stitute  genuine  prayer.  A  picture  of  a  fire  is  not  a  fire.  A  description 
of  Niagara  is  not  the  falls.  It  takes  faith  to  form  words  into  the  Morn¬ 
ing  Watch  that  changes  lives  and  things.  For  the  prayer  of  faith  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  humble  petitioner  a  check  with  the  signature  of  Jesus 
at  the  bottom,  and  is  good  for  any  amount  when  presented  at  the 
bank  of  heaven. 

The  Morning  Watch  must  be  observed  in  a  fixed  spirit  to  obey  the 
counsel  jeceived.  For  while  faith  may  make  the  requests,  obedience 
must  serve  him  with  the  blessings  sent.  “The  name  of  Jesus  must 
be  the  ruling  power  in  life,  in  order  to  be  the  ruling  power  in  prayer.” 

Prayer  must  be  definite.  Think  of  the  wonderful  answers  to 
prayer  on  record  in  the  Bible  and  elsewhere.  Those  requests  were  all 
definite.  D.  L.  Moody  said:  “Our  prayers  go  all  around  the  world 
without  anything  definite  being  asked.  We  do  not  expect  anything. 
Many  people  would  be  surprised  if  God  should  answer  their  prayers.” 
Not  all  definite  prayers  are  answered,  but  all  answered  prayers  on 
record  have  been  definite. 

There  must  be  perseverance.  We  must  “pray  without  ceasing.” 
“Over  one  hundred  years  ago  a  number  of  students  of  Yale  University 
rose  up  each  morning  before  daybreak,  and  through  the  long  winter 
months  pleaded  with  God  for  a  revival.  The  revival  came,  and  it  is 
said  that  every  student  in  the  university  surrendered  to  Christ.” 
“That  is  the  sublimest  moment  in  human  life,”  says  C.  Meyers, 
“which  holds  on  by  faith  to  God’s  promises  with  a  deathless  grip.” 

In  order  to  have  the  best  results  from  the  Morning  Watch,  the 
young  Christian  should  be  provided  with  helps  for  Bible  study  and 
prayer.  The  Bible  should  be  given  first  place  in  the  hour  of  secret 
prayer. 

The  Morning  Watch  Calendar  is  excellent  help  in  systematic 
Bible  study.  It  is  a  constant  reminder  of  things  for  which  all  should 
pray,  and  leads  all  who  use  it  to  pray  for  the  same  things  at  the  same 
time.  Then,  too,  the  calendar,  with  its  page  for  reporting  daily  mis- 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


330 

sionary  work,  is  a  call  to  “help  somebody  today.  ”  It  is  well  to  keep 
a  written  list  of  the  persons  and  things  one  is  praying  for.  Gordon 
in  his  little  book,  “Keeping  Tryst,”  gives  a  few  helpful  suggestions. 
Among  them  are  these:  (a)  Guard  jealously  the  quiet,  unhurried 
spirit;  (b)  remember  you  have  come  to  meet  the  Master  —  come  to 
know  him  better,  to  hear  his  voice,  to  realize  his  presence,  to  look  into 
his  face;  (c)  your  chief  business  is  listening;  (d)  be  frank  and  honest 
with  the  Master  as  his  Book  points  out  sin. 

When  Prayer  Fails 

While  thinking  about  the  boundless  possibilities  of  prayer  in  the 
Morning  Watch,  we  must  come  face  to  face  with  the  fact  that  prayer 
often  fails.  The  Missionary  Review  of  the  World ,  in  the  January, 
1910,  issue,  after  fifty  years  of  study  of  prayer  and  missions,  challenged 
any  one  to  bring  to  its  notice  one  spiritual  awakening  in  any  land 
which  was  not  begun  in  prayer  and  not  proportionate  to  the  main¬ 
tenance  of  intercession.  When  Haydn,  the  great  musical  composer, 
was  asked  how  he  most  quickly  regained  his  strength,  his  answer  was, 
“Prayer.”  The  Idaho  railway  engineer  who  never  lost  a  life,  attrib¬ 
uted  his  success  to  prayer.  Prayer  has  divided  seas,  caused  the  water 
to  gush  out  of  flinty  rock,  rolled  up  rivers,  muzzled  the  mouths  of 
lions,  fed  multitudes,  healed  the  sick,  and  raised  the  dead.  It  has 
bridled  human  passions,  converted  men  and  women,  comforted  break¬ 
ing  hearts,  and  inspired  fainting,  despairing  disciples  with  new  hope. 

All  this,  prayer  has  done,  and  much  more.  But  still,  as  one 
writer  says,  “most  prayers  are  not  answered,  and  yet  God  fulfils  his 
promises.”  The  same  writer  continues:  “The  stigma  upon  Christian 
life  is  the  unholy  content  without  any  distinct  experience  of  answers 
to  prayer.”  Prayer  is  the  telegraph  wire  that  connects  the  heart  of 
man  with  the  heart  of  God,  but  to  harbor  known  sin  in  the  heart  is 
to  cut  this  wire.  The  machine  may  click,  but  no  message  reaches 
the  other  end.  Sin  breaks  the  connection.  When  prayer  fails,  it  is 
time  to  repair  the  machinery  at  our  end  of  the  line;  and  the  quickest 
way  to  do  it  is  to  send  up  the  distress  signal:  “Create  in  me  a  clean 
heart,  O  God;  and  renew  a  right  spirit  within  me.” 

If  prayer  fails,  it  is  our  fault,  for  prayer  need  never  fail.  It  never 
does  fail  when  we  give  it  its  proper  place  in  our  lives  —  when  it  is  to 
us  as  truly  a  necessity  as  the  food  we  eat  and  the  air  we  breathe.  It  is 
when  prayer  becomes  a  secondary  matter  with  us,  when  we  use  it  as  a 
sort  of  top  dressing,  when  we  turn  to  it  as  a  last  resort  after  we  have 
tried  everything  else  and  failed, —  it  is  when  prayer  is  used  in  this  way 
that  it  fails.  “When  every  drop  of  blood  that  courses  through  the 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


331 

veins  is  touched  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  man  on  his  knees  has  a  leverage 
underneath  the  mountain  which  can  cast  it  into  the  sea  if  necessary, 
and  force  all  earth  and  heaven  to  recognize  his  power  in  His  name.” 

No  Time  to  Pray 

Yet  in  the  face  of  this  and  innumerable  other  facts  showing  plainly 
that  “prayer  is  the  greatest  force  in  God’s  great  world,”  men  and 
women,  Christian  men  and  women,  men  and  women  who  declare 
stoutly  that  they  believe  these  facts,  say  they  have  not  time  to  pray. 
“The  great  people  of  the  earth  today  are  the  people  who  pray, —  the 
people  who  take  time  to  pray.  They  have  not  time?  It  must  be 
taken  from  something  else.  That  something  else  is  important,  very 
important  and  pressing;  still  it  is  less  important  and  pressing  than 
prayer.  There  are  people  who  put  prayer  first,  and  group  the  other 
items  in  life’s  schedule  around  and  after  prayer.  These  are  the  people 
who  are  doing  the  most  for  God  in  winning  souls,  in  solving  prob¬ 
lems,  in  awakening  churches,  in  supplying  both  men  and  money  for 
mission  posts,  in  keeping  fresh  and  strong  the  lives  far  off  in  sacri¬ 
ficial  service  in  foreign  fields,  where  the  thickest  fighting  is  going  on, 
in  keeping  the  world  sweet  a  little  longer.” 

Take  time  to  pray!  Nothing  will  give  us  such  clear  visions  of 
ourselves  or  of  Christ  as  will  secret  prayer;  and  more  than  that,  the 
chamber  of  secret  prayer  is  the  station  where  we  connect  with  the  great 
dynamo  of  heaven,  and  receive  power  to  live  the  life  that  wins.  From 
every  viewpoint  prayer  is  the  Christian’s  greatest  privilege. 

Our  Chief  Duty 

To  my  mind  no  duty  before  us  as  workers  is  more  important  than 
to  teach  our  young  people  to  pray.  We  must  know  for  ourselves  the 
value  of  the  Morning  Watch  if  we  are  going  to  show  our  young  people 
its  value.  The  saddest  sight  of  earth  is  not  that  of  a  young  Christian 
laid  away  to  rest  beneath  the  turf  when  others  are  entering  their 
careers.  The  greatest  of  all  tragedies  is  the  tragedy  of  the  young 
person  who  fails  to  remember  his  Creator  in  the  days  of  his  youth, 
and  fails  to  make  Jesus  Christ  his  personal  friend.  And  I  believe  the 
place  in  which  to  learn  to  know  him  whom  to  know  is  life  eternal,  is 
the  chamber  of  secret  prayer. 

In  a  certain  Roman  Catholic  chapel  hangs  a  picture  of  Jesus. 
Before  it  is  a  stool.  To  those  who  remain  standing,  the  picture  holds 
no  attraction.  One  must  kneel  to  see  the  beauty  and  glory  of  the 
countenance.  So  it  is  by  kneeling  before  the  open  Bible  that  we  learn 
to  know  the  Saviour  as  he  is.  And  to  know  him  means  to  love  him, 
to  serve  him,  to  follow  him. 


332  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 

We  should  meet  him  in  the  chamber  of  secret  prayer  regularly 
each  day;  we  should  meet  him  there  regularly  every  morning;  for  the 
Christian  who  learns  the  joy  and  comfort  and  help  of  beginning  the  day 
with  God,  will  pray  more  through  the  day,  and  will  have  an  evening 
appointment  with  the  same  unchanging  Friend,  that  the  hand  that 
unlocks  the  door  in  the  morning  may  bolt  it  again  at  night. 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THE  CIRCULATION  OF 

THE  CALENDAR 

I  believe  the  following  suggestions,  if  carried  out,  will  greatly 
promote  the  observance  of  the  Morning  Watch  among  our  young 
people:  — 

1.  That  we  all  contribute  helpful  suggestions  to  produce  the  best 
possible  Morning  Watch  Calendar. 

2.  That  we  use  it  faithfully,  as  a  help  to  ourselves  and  as  an  en¬ 
couragement  to  our  young  people. 

3.  That  we  urge  our  ministers  and  workers  to  use  it. 

4.  That  we  urge  all  our  schools  to  give  the  Morning  Watch  first 
place  on  the  daily  program  (written  or  printed). 

5.  That  the  Morning  Watch  be  given  first  place  on  the  daily 
Missionary  Volunteer  camp  meeting  program. 

6.  That  through  such  means  as  may  be  devised  by  those  finan¬ 
cially  concerned,  the  following  be  provided  with  copies  of  the  Morning 
Watch  Calendar:  — 

(a)  The  young  people  in  our  churches. 

(b)  The  young  people  who  are  isolated. 

(c)  The  young  people  in  our  academies  and  colleges. 

(d)  The  children  in  our  church  schools. 

7.  That  we  urge  conferences  to  provide  ministers  with  copies  of 
the  calendar  to  pass  out  to  new  converts. 

8.  That  our  young  people  be  encouraged  to  use  the  Morning 
Watch  Calendar  for  holiday  gifts. 

Is  it  too  much  for  us  to  do  these  things  to  help  our  young  people 
to  become  observers  of  the  Morning  Watch,  when  we  think  of  its 
limitless  possibilities?  Is  it  too  much  when  we  know  that  prayer  is 
the  Christian’s  greatest  need  and  his  supreme  privilege?  Is  it  too 
much  when  we  realize,  as  J.  R.  Mott  said,  that  “the  only  thing  that 
will  enable  Christians  to  conquer  this  world  for  Christ  is  prayer”? 


THE  ORGANIZATION  AND  WORK  OF  THE 

LOCAL  SOCIETY 

C.  A.  RUSSELL 

It  would  seem  an  almost  unnecessary  expenditure  of  valuable 
time  for  me  to  attempt  to  place  before  this  gathering  of  representative 
young  people’s  workers  the  necessity  and  form  of  organization  and 
the  plans  of  work  most  effective  in  the  local  society,  since  many  have 
had  a  larger  and  more  intimate  connection  with  the  movement  than 
have  I,  and  all  are  familiar  with  our  present  efficient  form  of  organiza¬ 
tion  and  plans  of  work.  If  the  thought  be  simply  to  introduce  the 
subject  for  general  discussion,  I  gladly  acquiesce. 

The  Demand 

For  years  before  definite  steps  were  taken  looking  toward  the 
organization  of  the  splendid  heritage  God  has  given  us,  the  demand 
for  such  an  organization  was  felt  by  some  among  us.  The  pioneers 
in  this  work  dug  down  far  beneath  the  surface,  and  laid  broad  and 
deep  the  foundations  upon  which  has  been  reared  the  superstructure 
of  the  message.  We,  their  children,  might  have  gone  on,  reaping  the 
benefits  of  their  early  research  and  adding  strength  to  strength, 
but  —  we  did  not.  Instead  there  sprang  a  leak,  an  appalling  leak, 
through  which  we  were  rapidly  losing  our  young  people. 

The  Call 

Messages  then  began  to  come.  “Will  the  young  men  and  young 
women  who  really  love  Jesus  organize  themselves  as  workers,  not 
only  for  those  who  profess  to  be  Sabbath  keepers,  but  for  those  who 
are  not  of  our  faith?”  “Let  there  be  a  company  formed  somewhat 
after  the  order  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society”  to  do  this  work. 

Leadership 

The  demand  was  felt.  The  call  was  made.  Who  would  heed? 
Who  would  lead?  No  movement  can  succeed  without  competent 
leadership.  Whenever  God  has  called  for  a  definite  work  to  be  done, 
he  has  invariably  raised  up  some  one  whom  he  has  clothed  with  his 
Spirit  to  lead  out  in  this  work.  This  movement  proved  no  exception. 
Men  and  women  with  largeness  of  heart  and  singleness  of  purpose 
began  to  plan,  to  organize,  to  execute. 

Obstacles 

The  work  moved  slowly  at  first,  some  fearing  that  its  prosecution 
would  have  the  effect  of  building  up  a  wall  of  partition  in  the  church, 

333 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


•) 
*  > 


34 


between  young  and  old.  These  fears  have  long  since  proved  to  be 
groundless,  and  a  hearty  spirit  of  cooperation  has  come  in,  resulting 
in  great  encouragement  to  the  workers  and  marked  advancement 
in  the  work. 

Mount  Vernon  Convention 

A  great  impetus  was  given  to  the  movement  through  the  holding 
of  a  representative  convention  at  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio,  in  1907.  Plans 
of  organization  were  here  discussed  and  definite  lines  of  work  outlined. 
It  was  here  that  this  youngest  child  of  the  denomination  received  its 
name.  I  was  present  at  the  naming.  It  was  an  interesting  occasion. 
After  many  suggestions  our  present  name  was  adopted.  It  was 
spread  out  upon  the  blackboard  and  extended  entirely  across  the 
chapel  at  Mount  Vernon  Academy  — 

SEVENTH-DAY  ADVENTIST  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  SOCIETY 

OF  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEERS. 

I  like  it.  I  like  the  missionary  part.  I  like  the  volunteer  part. 
Christ  calls  for  volunteers;  he  never  drafts. 

Membership 

After  much  discussion  it  was  voted  that  the  basis  of  membership 
in  the  society  should  be  church  membership.  This  decision  has 
since  been  confirmed,  and  is  still  the  basis  in  the  Senior  Society.  It 
is  pointed  out  that  “those  who  really  love  Jesus”  and  are  old  enough 
to  join  the  Senior  society,  should  be  united  with  the  church.  Prayer 
should  be  offered  and  personal  work  done  for  the  unconverted,  and 
they  should  be  encouraged  to  attend  the  society  meetings  and  in 
some  instances,  perhaps,  to  participate  in  the  programs;  but,  of  course, 
they  cannot  consistently  sign  the  membership  card  and  thus  become 
members. 

Organization 

Where  there  is  a  sufficient  number  of  young  people,  a  society 
should  be  organized.  This  organization  should  usually  be  effected 
by  the  conference  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary.  It  is,  however, 
both  a  duty  and  a  privilege  for  our  regular  conference  laborers  to 
become  so  conversant  with  our  form  of  organization  and  general 
Missionary  Volunteer  plans,  that  they  can  step  into  a  church,  rally 
the  young  people,  and  organize  a  society.  In  conferences  with  a 
large  constituency  it  is  too  much  to  expect  the  Missionary  Volunteer 
secretary,  who  in  many  cases  is  also  educational  superintendent,  to 
be  able  to  organize  a  society  in  every  church  where  such  an  organiza¬ 
tion  is  needed.  The  elders,  and  other  officers  in  the  church  and  Sab- 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


bath  school,  should  be  enlisted  in  hearty  sympathy  and  cooperation. 
This  is  very  essential,  else  the  newborn  child  may  suffer  strangulation. 

Small  Churches 

In  churches  where  there  are  but  very  few  young  people,  the  latter 
should  be  encouraged  to  form  themselves  into  a  prayer  and  personal 
workers’  band.  They  should  meet  regularly  for  Bible  study,  prayer, 
and  planning  of  the  work.  All  such  should  sign  membership  cards, 
uniting  with  the  conference  society. 

Officers 

The  officers  of  a  society  consist  of  a  leader,  an  assistant  leader,  a 
secretary-treasurer,  an  educational  secretary,  and  a  chorister.  These 
are  elected  by  the  church  for  a  term  of  six  months.  The  young  people 
should  have  at  least  one  representative  upon  the  church  nominating 
committee.  None  but  church  members  are  permitted  to  vote.  It 
goes  without  saying  that  none  but  church  members  are  permitted  to 
fill  any  of  these  offices. 

Executive  Committee  and  Bands 

The  executive  committee  consists  of  these  officers,  together  with 
the  elder  of  the  church  or  the  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath  school, 
and  the  leaders  of  such  bands  as  may  be  formed.  This  committee 
lays  plans  for  the  general  welfare  of  the  society,  and  acts  in  the  capac¬ 
ity  of  a  program  committee  to  plan  for  the  society  meetings.  This 
committee  should  meet  frequently,  weekly  if  possible.  The  forming 
of  working  bands  is  of  vital  importance.  The  number  and  size  of 
these  bands  must  depend  upon  conditions.  In  a  society  of  ordinary 
size,  there  should  be  a  Personal  Workers’  or  Christian  Help  Band  and 
a  Literature  and  Correspondence  Band.  These  should  be  prayer 
bands,  having  definite  lists  of  those  for  whom  they  are  working  and 
praying.  Where  conditions  will  permit,  the  band  meetings  should  be 
held  at  a  different  time  from  the  .society  meeting.  The  life  of  the 
society' depends  upon  the  activity  of  the  working  bands. 

Meetings 

There  should  be  regular  weekly  meetings  where  conditions  make 
this  possible.  Very  strongly  do  we  urge  the  use  of  the  programs 
prepared  by  the  Department.  Earnest  prayer  and  painstaking 
effort  have  been  placed  upon  the  preparation  of  these  programs.  The 
leader  at  least  should  receive  regularly  the  Church  Officers'  Gazette. 
All  the  officers  and  as  many  of  the  members  as  possible  should  take 
the  Youth's  Instructor.  The  leader  will  see  that  all  material  needed 


336 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


is  placed  in  the  hands  of  those  who  are  to  participate  in  rendering  the 
program,  at  least  one  week  before  it  is  to  be  given.  The  articles  and 
items  of  interest  found  in  the  Gazette  and  Instructor  are  not  simply 
to  be  read,  but  are  to  be  told  or  written,  and  given  in  a  way  to  arouse 
and  hold  the  attention. 

Special  Features 

The  special  features  of  our  organized  work  are  to  be  given  careful 
attention.  These  include  the  Morning  Watch,  Standard  of  Attain¬ 
ment,  Reading  Course,  King’s  Pocket  League,  Financial  Missionary 
Goal,  and  Bible  Reading  Course.  By  precept  and  example  the  officers 
should  encourage  all  in  the  observance  of  the  Morning  Watch.  The 
texts  for  the  week  should  be  carefully  reviewed  at  each  meeting. 
Frequent  reference  should  be  made  to  the  Bible  Reading  Course,  all 
being  encouraged  to  keep  up  with  the  requirements  in  reading  the 
Bible  through  this  year.  Every  member  of  the  society  should  also 
be  a  member  of  the  King’s  Pocket  League.  Frequent  reference  to 
the  work  of  the  league  and  interesting  reports  of  work  done  will  do 
much  toward  arousing  an  interest  in  the  scattering  of  pamphlets  and 
tracts. 

The  educational  features  of  our  society  work  are  to  be  especially 
fostered  by  the  educational  secretary.  He  might  well  take  the  lead 
in  organizing  a  Standard  of  Attainment  class.  This  should  meet 
weekly  for  study,  and  the  recitation  of  definite  lesson  assignments. 
In  this  age,  when  the  infection  of  intoxicating  reading  is  poisoning 
the  mind  and  corrupting  the  morals,  too  much  emphasis  cannot  be 
placed  upon  our  reading  courses.  Every  member  should  be  following 
one  or  the  other  of  these  courses.  Such  should  be  urged  to  write  out 
their  book  reviews,  and  send  them  to  the  conference  secretary.  The 
financial  Goal  must  not  be  overlooked.  Each  member  should  be 
made  to  feel  his  duty  in  contributing  his  share  toward  reaching  the 
Goal  placed  before  the  society.  Often  devices  help  in  this  matter. 

Conference  Society 

Every  young  person  in  the  conference  who  is  not  a  member  of 
a  local  society,  should  be  invited  to  join  the  conference  society.  The 
names  of  such  isolated  young  people  may  be  secured  by  means  of  the 
information  blanks;  by  soliciting  the  cooperation  of  conference  work¬ 
ers  as  they  travel  among  the  churches;  and  at  camp  meetings,  con¬ 
ventions,  and  general  meetings.  These  should  be  made  intelligent 
concerning  all  phases  of  society  work,  and  encouraged  by  frequent 
personal  letters.  Not  only  should  the  conference  secretary,  who  is 
ex-officio  leader  of  the  society,  write  frequently  to  these  scattered 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


387 


members,  but  names  may  be  furnished  leaders  of  correspondence 
bands  in  local  societies.  Great  care  should  be  exercised  in  this  fea¬ 
ture  of  letter  writing. 

Junior  Society 

Wherever  there  is  a  .  church  school,  a  Junior  Society  should  be 
organized  under  the  direct  supervision  of  the  teacher.  At  first  she 
may  be  obliged  to  act  as  leader.  Soon,  however,  one  of  the  most 
consecrated  of  the  children  may  be  selected  for  this  work.  Meetings 
in  connection  with  the  school  should  be  held  once  each  week.  In¬ 
valuable  material  is  found  in  the  Gazette  which  each  teacher  must 
receive.  In  some  cases,  where  suitable  leadership  can  be  secured, 
Junior  Societies  should  be  carried  on  where  there  are  no  church 
schools.  This  Junior  work  is  in  its  infancy,  and  should  come  in  for 
a  large  share  of  time  at  this  Council. 

This  Council  may  see  light  in  altering  some  features  of  our  pres¬ 
ent  form  of  organization,  or  of  changing  some  of  our  plans  of  work. 
But  in  any  case  let  us  be  thankful  for  what  has  already  been  accom¬ 
plished  in  the  saving  of  our  children  and  youth,  and  pledge  anew  our 
loyalty  to  the  Seventh-day  Adventist  Young  People’s  Society  of 
Missionary  Volunteers. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  SENIOR  SOCIETY 

VARNER  JOHNS 

The  local  society  as  the  unit  of  organization  determines  either 
the  success  or  the  failure  in  all  Missionary  Volunteer  work.  I  con¬ 
sider  the  local  society  problem  the  greatest  one  we  have  to  deal  with. 

In  the  first  organization  of  the  society  it  is  absolutely  essential 
to  study  the  local  conditions  in  order  to  find  out  the  special  needs  of 
the  young  people,  the  problems  of  leadership,  etc.  In  organizing  a 
new  society  I  emphasize  the  important  points  in  our  organization, 
the  necessity  for  consecrated  service  in  the  society,  and  the  necessity 
of  willingness  to  live  out  the  membership  pledge  on  uniting  with  the 
society.  To  have  on  the  roll,  members  who  never  respond  in  conse¬ 
cration  meeting,  who  show  no  signs  of  interest,  demoralizes  the  whole 
society  and  lowers  its  tone.  If  possible  it  is  best  to  arrange  a  prayer 
band  among  the  converted  young  people,  and  make  that  the  back¬ 
bone  of  the  working  force,  the  power  behind  the  society.  The  Mis¬ 
sionary  Volunteer  Society  should  center  about  the  prayer  bands;  all 
idea  of  entertainment^should  be  subordinated.  The  prayer  meeting 
is  the  thermometer  and  register  of  the  church,  and  the  prayer  band, 

22 


338 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


1  feel  sure,  is  the  register  of  the  society.  Practice  and  inspiration 
more  than  instruction  should  characterize  the  society.  A  prayer 
society  and  service  society  combined  is  the  ideal. 

The  past  failures  in  our  Colorado  societies  were  due  to  lack  of 
efficient  leadership.  I  like  to  talk  beforehand  with  the  elder  of  the 
church  and  the  young  people  themselves  concerning  prospective 
leaders,  especially  with  respect  to  their  spirituality  rather  than  their 
talent,  and  also  concerning  the  one  in  whom  the  young  people  have 
confidence.  The  enthusiastic,  live  leader  is  the  successful  one. 
I  once  visited  one  of  our  local  societies  where  an  ordained  elder  was 
the  leader.  During  the  meeting  he  was  the  only  one  who  took  any 
part.  Three  solemn  songs,  a  long  prayer,  and  a  long-drawn-out 
Bible  study  occupied  the  full  time  of  the  meeting.  That  is  a  per¬ 
version  of  the  name  Missionary  Volunteer  Society.  If  officers  cannot 
make,  they  can  certainly  mar  a  society. 

There  are  three  divisions  to  the  work  of  the  regular  society, — 
the  devotional,  the  educational,  and  the  practical.  The  devotional  ser¬ 
vices  include  the  testimony  meeting,  the  prayer  service,  and  the  re¬ 
vival  and  consecration  service.  The  educational  part  consists  in  the 
Bible  and  missions  study,  Standard  of  Attainment,  preparation,  etc. 
The  practical  work  has  to  do  with  the  plans  for,  and  the  carrying  out 
of,  active  missionary  experience.  Any  effective  society  must  use  all 
three  of  these  activities. 

Real  success  in  Missionary  Volunteer  Societies  is  not  the  moving 
of  the  young  people  with  a  flight  of  feeling  at  an  occasional  service, 
but  it  depends,  first,  on  educating  them  in  the  truths  of  the  Bible, 
and  in  the  history  and  the  records  of  development  in  mission  lands; 
secondly,  on  giving  them  practical  training  for  service,  developing  in 
them  a  love  for  active  work  in  soul  saving;  and  thirdly,  and  most 
important  of  all,  on  getting  them  to  accept  Jesus  as  their  Saviour, 
and  becoming  truly  converted,  with  that  power  in  their  lives  which 
comes  only  from  above.  The  good  is  always  the  enemy  of  the  best 
in  society  work.  Our  societies  are  not  efficient  enough.  The  name  is 
too  often  retained  wdiile  the  society  has  switched  off  on  some  side 
track,  and  has  become  a  musical  or  literary  club,  or  worse  still,  a 
place  where  some  poor  leader  can  practice  preaching  on  the  young 
people. 

I  have  often  wished  that  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Department 
had  more  instructions  to  local  leaders  in  some  permanent  form.  So 
many  times  a  change  is  made  at  election  time,  and  some  one  takes  the 
lead  who  knows  nothing  of  the  different  plans  and  methods,  and  has 
received  none  of  the  numerous  letters  of  instruction  sent  out  to  leaders. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


339 

I  should  like  to  see  the  object  of  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Society 
briefly  mentioned,  the  method  of  organization  and  requirements  of 
membership  outlined,  the  necessity  of  training  the  young  people 
and  how  to  do  it,  a  statement  of  how  to  use  the  prepared  lessons, 
and  how  to  give  live  programs,  and  something  on  each  of  our  de¬ 
votional,  educational,  and  practical  plans,  giving  suggestions  on  how 
to  develop  them  in  the  society.  This  would  be  a  wonderful  help  to 
the  leader,  and  at  the  same  time  would  save  the  conference  secretary 
a  lot  of  worry. 

The  Missionary  Volunteer  Society  is  in  the  church,  of  the  church, 
and  for  the  church,  a  peculiarly  and  essentially  church  organization. 
Many  a  society  has  dragged  out  a  feeble  and  precarious  existence 
because  the  elder  and  the  church  people  were  indifferent  toward  it. 
A  deeper  interest  on  the  part  of  the  church  would  insure  a  more  ener¬ 
getic  and  successful  society.  Our  older  people  need  help  and  in¬ 
struction  as  well  as  young  people,  because  they  can  greatly  help  the 
young  people’s  work,  or  hinder  it  by  pessimistic  criticism,  nagging, 
scolding,  or  interfering.  We  must  educate  the  older  people  to  our 
society  plans  as  well  as  the  young  people,  if  we  would  be  successful. 


THE  LOCAL  JUNIOR  MISSIONARY 
VOLUNTEER  SOCIETY 

ESTHER  FRANCIS 

I  hardly  know  whether  this  paper  should  treat  on  the  Junior 
Society  outside  of  the  church  school,  or  that  of  the  church  school, 
but  I  do  know  this,  that  when  the  societies  of  our  schools  really  do 
the  work  of  training  our  boys  and  girls  to  act  their  part  as  Missionary 
Volunteers  in  the  finishing  of  this  work,  there  will  be  little  need  for 
J unior  Societies  outside  of  the  school.  Parents  will  see  that  our  schools 
are  more  than  mere  day  schools,  where  the  children  are  taught  the 
Bible  in  addition  to  the  common  branches;  but  that  the  great  aim 
of  every  lesson  is  the  training  of  our  boys  and  girls  for  service,  and 
they  will  wish  their  children  to  have  these  opportunities. 

The  Junior  work  of  our  school  is  not  simply  a  little  meeting  held 
on  Wednesday  afternoon  as  a  part  of  the  school  course.  In  reality 
it  is  the  great  object  and  only  excuse  our  schools  have  for  existence; 
because  we  believe  that  these  are  the  children  of  whom  we  are  told  by 
the  spirit  of  prophecy,  “When  heavenly  intelligences  see  that  men  are 
no  longer  permitted  to  present  the  truth,  the  Spirit  of  God  will  come 
upon  the  children,  and  they  will  do  a  work  in  the  proclamation  of  the. 
truth  which  the  older  ones  cannot  do,  because  their  way  will  be 
hedged  up.” 


840 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


*  ’  '  * .  •  ~  "  •  "  ■  ;*  •  ..•*.*  *  '  *v  .  *»> 

It  is  the  work  of  the  Christian  teacher,  besides  giving  definite  and 
thorough  instruction  in  what  we  term  the  common  branches,  to  help 
every  child  under  her  charge  to  realize  God’s  claims  upon  his  life  in 
the  light  of  this  prophecy,  and  to  inspire  in  him,  by  an  example  of 
complete  consecration,  a  desire  to  be  used  by  God  in  the  finishing  of 
his  work. 

This  cannot  be  accomplished  by  mere  class  work,  however  effi¬ 
cient  the  teacher  may  be,  but  every  day  all  her  plans  must  be  laid 
before  the  Master  teacher,  and  his  wisdom  sought,  that  for  each 
child  in  particular  she  may  know  just  how  to  strengthen  his  faith  in 
God.  And  then  at  the  close  of  the  day,  again  she  lingers  to  present 
before  him  its  record,  and  to  plead  the  special  need  of  each  little  one 
and  the  blessing  of  his  Spirit  to  attend  her  humble  efforts.  Nor  do 
her  prayers  for  them  cease  at  the  close  of  nine  months,  but  she  still 
carries  them  on  her  prayer  list,  and  some  day  she  will  see  that  God 
answers  prayer.  The  children,  too,  should  be  made  to  feel  that 
the  work  is  sacred,  as  well  as  the  place  dedicated  to  God  for  a  church 
school. 

Upon  coming  to  school  in  the  morning,  it  is  understood  that  the 
children  are  to  come  directly  and  quietly  into  the  schoolroom  and 
take  their  own  seats.  Permission  for  necessary  communication  may 
be  granted  by  the  teacher  until  three  minutes  of  nine.  Then  one  tap 
of  the  bell  announces  that  the  quiet  hour  has  begun,  and  each  child 
takes  out  his  Bible  and  looks  up  the  Morning  Watch  verse  for  the  day, 
which  the  teacher  has  placed  upon  a  blackboard  calendar.  It  has 
been  interesting  to  note  the  effect  of  this  quiet  Bible  study,  for  very 
few  of  the  children  ever  ask  for  permission  to  whisper  after  coming 
in,  even  though  they  may  be  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  early.  They  take 
out  their  Bibles  at  once,  look  up  the  verse,  and  spend  the  rest  of  the 
time  in  Bible  reading.  Especially  has  this  been  true  since  January  i, 
when  several  began  to  read  the  Bible  through. 

At  nine  o’clock  nearly  every  child  is  ready  to  repeat  the  verse, 
and  is  eager  to  do  so.  These  verses  do  not  always  follow  the  regular 
calendar.  One  period  we  learned  a  verse  each  day  beginning  with  the 
different  letters  of  the  alphabet,  and  the  children  enjoyed  repeating 
their  A  B  C’s  of  promises.  We  also  memorized  this  year  the  twenty- 
third,  ninety-first,  one  hundredth,  one  hundred  and  third,  and  the 
one  hundred  and  twenty-first  psalms  during  the  morning  exercises. 
After  the  verse  has  been  repeated  several  times,  some  child  chooses  a 
hymn,  and  very  often  the  thought  of  the  song  is  closely  connected 
^with  that  of  the  verse,  showing  that  they  see  the  relation  between 
God’s  promises  and  our  beautiful  hymns.  Then  all  kneel  in  prayer 
while  the  teacher  or  some  pupil  asks  God’s  blessing  on  the  work; 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


341 

then  comes  a  moment’s  quiet  waiting  on  their  knees  for  God  to  whis¬ 
per  softly  some  promise  for  the  day. 

During  the  remaining  five  or  ten  minutes  of  the  opening  exercises 
the  teacher  may  read  to  them  from  the  Junior  Volunteer  reading  books. 
Upon  completing  a  book,  the  children  are  encouraged  to  write  a 
review,  the  teacher  perhaps  exempting  those  who  wish  to  do  so, 
from  the  regular  written  language  lesson  of  the  day. 

Once  a  week,  on  Wednesday  afternoon,  comes  our  regular  society 
meeting.  The  officers  are  elected  by  the  children  for  a  term  of  three 
months,  and  consist  of  leader,  secretary,  treasurer,  and  organist. 
The  Church  Officers'  Gazette  contains  a  suggestive  program  for  the 
month,  which  is  a  great  help  to  the  teacher,  who  is  chairman  of  the 
program  committee.  Every  child  is  a  member  of  the  society,  and  to 
the  roll  call  of  the  secretary  he  is  supposed  to  answer  with  some  item 
of  missionary  work  done  during  the  week.  The  Scripture  lesson  is 
often  the  review  of  the  Morning  Watch  verses  for  the  week  or  month, 
given  by  one  of  the  children  with  some  interesting  device  such  as  the 
letters  of  the  alphabet  held  up  while  the  children  repeat  the  verses. 
Encourage  the  children  to  offer  prayer  by  calling  on  two  or  more,  but 
be  sure  you  tell  them  beforehand. 

Very  often  the  program  calls  for  a  Bible  story  to  be  told  on  the 
life  of  some  Old  Testament  character,  and  some  member  of  the  fourth 
or  fifth  grade  usually  gives  it,  as  this  is  along  the  line  of  their  Bible 
study.  Once  three  children  gave  the  study  of  Moses,  each  covering  a 
forty-year  period  of  his  life.  When  we  hear  as  it  were  our  own  words 
coming  back  to  us  from  these  human  phonographs,  we  are  made  to 
feel  how  important  it  is  that  our  words  be  well  chosen.  It  is  not  only 
the  program  which  benefits  them,  but  the  experience  of  standing 
before  the  school  and  reciting  these  stories  will  give  them  a  training 
that  will  enable  them  to  stand  perhaps  before  the  great  men  of  this 
earth  and  witness  for  God’s  truth. 

Our  eighth-grade  class  was  studying  Bible  doctrines,  and  some¬ 
times  some  of  them  gave  a  Bible  reading  or  a  Standard  of  Attainment 
quiz.  We  found  the  mission  studies  very  interesting,  especially 
after  we  secured  the  ten  outline  maps  from  our  General  Department. 
The  sixth  and  seventh  grades  usually  took  this  part  of  the  program, 
as  they  were  having  geography  study.  Thus  you  see  the  work  of  the 
programs  required  but  little  outside  preparation  on  their  part,  and 
yet  no  one  ever  seemed  to  tire  of  hearing  the  stories  or  exercises. 
Somehow  the  program  seemed  to  be  a  summing  up  of  the  essentials, 
and  a  conception  of  their  relation  to  our  work  and  practice  in  giving 
these  before  others. 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


342 


Even  the  very  little  children  had  their  part  in  choosing  the  songs 
and  taking  the  offering.  The  success  lies  in  causing  the  children  to 
feel  that  this  is  their  society,  and  each  one  is  a  part  of  it,  and  thus  a 
part  of  the  great  world-wide  Missionary  Volunteer  movement. 

Our  society  had  two  committees  and  two  bands.  The  duty  of 
the  Christian  help  committee  was  to  find  those  in  need  and  report 
to  the  school,  and  the  literature  committee  were  to  gather  papers 
for  distribution  or  mailing. 

But  the  strength  of  the  society  and  the  school  was  in  its  two  prayer 
bands.  The  girls’  prayer  band  met  just  after  school  on  Friday  after¬ 
noon.  The  last  half  hour  of  the  day  was  given  to  our  little  social 
meeting,  and  I  know  of  no  better  tonic  of  inspiration  to  the  teacher, 
after  the  week  of  toil,  than  the  earnest  testimonies  of  those  boys 
and  girls,  telling  of  their  desires  to  live  for  Jesus  and  to  have  a  home  in 
heaven.  Somehow  it  seemed  to  cast  a  brighter  look  on  the  occasional 
darker  side  of  teaching,  to  know  that  at  heart  they  purposed  to  do 
right  in  spite  of  their  seeming  waywardness.  At  first  it  may  be 
difficult  to  get  all  to  take  part  in  these  meetings,  and  here  the  teacher 
must  use  the  utmost  care  and  patience,  remembering,  perhaps  years 
ago,  how  fast  her  own  heart  beat  at  her  first  attempt  to  witness  for 
Him. 

All  our  girls  remained  for  the  prayer  band,  and  all  but  one  took 
part,  she  being  one  of  the  older  girls.  At  the  close  of  one  band  meet¬ 
ing  I  detained  the  girl  most  closely  associated  with  her,  and  we  had 
a  long  talk  about  it.  Her  associate  promised  to  join  with  me  in  spe¬ 
cial  prayer  for  the  week  to  come,  that  we  might  know  how  to  win  her. 
The  next  Friday,  after  all  had  prayed  except  her,  and  we  were  about 
to  rise,  she  offered  a  prayer  and  a  victory  was  gained  in  her  life.  And 
not  only  in  hers,  but  afterward  her  associate,  in  speaking  to  me  about 
it,  said,  “Why,  1  was  just  sure  she  would  pray.”  If  more  of  this 
childlike  confidence  in  God  accompanied  our  prayers,  what  victories 
would  be  gained  for  him!  We  have  much  to  learn  from  the  simplicity 
and  trust  of  children.  The  youngest  pupil  of  only  seven  years 
always  offered  an  earnest  prayer,  which  closed  with  these  words, 
“  For  dear  Jesus’  sake.  Amen.” 

It  is  usually  more  difficult  to  get  boys  to  take  an  interest  in  these 
things  than  girls,  but  four  of  our  boys  met  for  their  prayer  band 
Wednesday  after  school,  and  precious  were  our  seasons  together, 
yet  we  always  felt  sad  to  see  the  other  three  boys  pass  out  apparently 
indifferent.  I  talked  to  them,  prayed  for  them  for  weeks,  but  still 
they  seemed  not  to  care.  One  meeting  shortly  after  the  Sabbath 
school  lesson  of  the  healing  of  the  palsied  man,  I  just  told  the  boys  I 
had  done  all  I  knew  how  to  do.  and  I  believed  God  was  waiting  for 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


343 

them,  like  the  four  men,  to  bring  these  boys  to  him,  and  as  in  the 
lesson  when  he  saw  their  faith  he  healed  their  friends,  so  God  would 
not  disappoint  their  efforts. 

They  chose  the  youngest  of  the  three,  and  decided  to  work  and 
pray  for  him  during  the  week.  On  Sabbath  one  boy  invited  him  over 
in  the  afternoon,  and  I  found  them  guessing  Bible  names  together. 
On  Tuesday  another  invited  him  home  for  lunch,  and  afterward  he 
said,  “I’m  almost  sure  he’ll  stay  tomorrow  night.”  Just  before  the 
meeting,  the  youngest  of  our  band  went  with  him  for  a  pail  of  water, 
and  I  wish  you  might  have  seen  the  look  of  earnestness  on  his  face 
as  they  talked  together,  or  the  seven  pairs  of  shining  eyes  of  the  little 
girls  as  they  passed  out  that  night,  for  they  too  had  been  praying 
that  God  would  save  him. 

The  boys  were  so  happy  to  see  the  answer  to  their  prayers  and 
efforts  that  week  that  they  wanted  to  take  both  the  others  for  the 
next  week.  During  the  week  one  of  the  boys  spoke  to  me  nearly 
every  day  of  his  confidence  that  God  would  surely  answer  their  prayers. 
On  the  next  Wednesday  afternoon  this  little  boy  of  ten  years  raised 
his  hand  for  permission  to  whisper,  and  then  stepped  quietly  back  to 
the  older  boy,  and  putting  his  arm  around  his  shoulder  with  that 
irresistible  winsomeness  of  childhood  simplicity  invited  him  to  stay. 
That  night  and  during  the  rest  of  the  school  year  they  all  stayed. 

It  was  not  only  for  each  other  that  they  prayed,  but  for  definite 
victories  in  their  own  lives,  to  overcome  anger,  whispering,  and  for 
help  in  their  lessons.  One  boy  said  to  me,  “You  know  in  our  exam¬ 
ination,  when  I  thought  I  just  couldn’t  get  that  problem  in  long  divi¬ 
sion,  I  prayed,  and  I  got  it  right  away.” 

While  we  teach  the  children  to  have  confidence  in  a  prayer-hearing 
God,  we  must  as  faithfully  instruct  them  in  the  conditions  upon 
which  God  hears  prayer,  so  that  they  will  not  be  confused,  disap¬ 
pointed,  and  discouraged.  We  should  be  careful,  too,  not  to  hold 
these  meetings  too  long  after  school,  for  our  pupils  are  only  children 
yet.  An  inspiring  talk,  or  best  of  all  a  personal  experience  related 
in  five  minutes  or  less,  and  then  five  or  ten  minutes  in  prayer  will  be 
sufficient.  The  meeting  should  not  exceed  fifteen  minutes.  But 
while  the  teacher  should  avoid  detaining  them,  she  should  not  be  too 
hurried  to  catch  that  wistful  look  that  bespeaks  a  troubled  heart. 
This  is  her  greatest  work,  the  personal  heart-to-heart  talks  with 
her  children. 

After  one  meeting  a  little  fellow  pressed  near,  and  asked  if  I  were 
to  be  busy.  I  told  him  no,  and  when  the  others  had  gone  he  said, 
“You  know  ever  since  you  told  us  about  taking  that  apple  and  then 
afterward  paying  for  it,  T  have  been  thinking  about  three  walnuts  that 


344  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


I  stole  from  a  basket  in  a  grocery  store;  and  when  I  pray,  something 
always  tells  me  to  pay  for  them  till  sometimes  I  can’t  sleep  at  night.” 
He  said  he  had  ten  cents,  so  we  kneeled  down  and  prayed  for  courage, 
and  he  went  over  there  and  made  it  right.  It  certainly  made  an  im¬ 
pression  on  the  grocer,  who  for  some  time  had  been  drifting  from  the 
truth;  and  on  the  life  of  the  child,  too,  for  his  mother  took  my  hand  in 
hers  and  said,  “I  tell  you  your  boys’  prayer  band  pays.”  Another, 
a  little  girl,  stood  near  me  at  the  noon  hour  as  I  corrected  spelling 
work.  Finally  I  asked,  “Did  you  wish  to  tell  me  something?” 
Then  between  broken  sobs  she  told  how,  a  few  days  before,  she  had 
been  unfair  in  spelling,  and  was  so  sorry  for  it. 

We  should  be  very  careful  not  to  work  merely  upon  the  emotions 
of  the  children,  we  should  help  them  to  see  that  no  sin  is  small  in 
God’s  sight.  If  they  can  be  taught  carefully  about  the  little  things 
of  honesty  and  truthfulness  now,  they  will  not  be  so  apt  to  be  led 
into  greater  mistakes  in  after-life,  and  Jesus  and  his  help  will  come  to 
be  very  real  to  them. 

In  the  review  of  a  primary  Bible  lesson  after  the  story  of  the 
signs  preceding  the  coming  of  Christ,  I  asked  a  little  boy,  “What 
would  you  say  if  some  one  should  tell  you  that  Jesus  was  in  San 
Francisco?”  lie  thought  an  instant,  and  then  replied,  with  a  look 
and  tone  of  assurance,  “Well,  I  would  tell  him  it  wasn’t  my  Jesus.” 

And  even  so  it  is,  dear  teachers,  unless  Jesus  Christ  is  real  to  us 
as  a  personal  companion,  we  cannot  make  him  real  to  our  children. 
And  unless  they  know  from  their  own  experience  that  he  is  their 
Jesus,  they  will  be  deceived  with  the  artful  deceptions  of  the  enemy. 

These,  then,  are  the  aims  of  our  Junior  Society  work,  to  help  our 
children  to  gain  this  experience  for  themselves,  to  feel  their  depen¬ 
dence  upon  God,  to  become  real  soul  winners  and  true  volunteers  to 
help  finish  this  work.  And  when  it  is  all  finished,  just  to  feel  that 
we  have  had  some  humble  part  in  saving  others  and  training  them 
for  service,  and  to  see  them  enter  those  pearly  gates,  will  be  an  event 
of  a  lifetime  —  one  worthy  of  a  lifetime  of  consecrated,  untiring 
efforts  for  our  boys  and  girls. 

DISCUSSION 

Mrs.  H.  E.  Osborne:  We  have  in  our  whole  union  conference 
only  twenty-six  church  schools,  which  is  not  more  than  you  have  in 
some  of  your  State  conferences.  I  have  here  a  number  of  letters 
from  our  workers  in  New  England,  telling  of  the  work  of  different 
Junior  Societies.  I  notice  that  they  do  not  all  seem  to  be  using  the 
lessons  in  the  Gazette.  I  thought  I  ought  to  explain  why.  For  va- 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


345 


rious  reasons  they  have  not  known  the  lessons  were  in  the  Gazette. 
I  did  not  know  it  myself  until  recently,  and  I  doubt  if  some  of  them 
have  access  to  the  paper. 

First  I  might  mention  the  society  at  Worcester.  Besides  all  the 
papers,  tracts,  etc.,  that  the  children  have  sold,  they  have  raised 
$50  by  making  and  selling  things. 

We  do  quite  a  little  in  trying  to  unite  the  manual  training  work 
in  the  school  with  the  raising  of  funds  for  the  Missionary  Volunteer 
work.  The  children  make  things  in  school,  and  these  are  sold.  At 
Worcester  they  hired  a  hall  and  invited  people,  the  children  giving  a 
short  program  on  missionary  subjects,  after  which  they  sold  the  things 
which  they  had  made.  When  all  expenses  were  paid,  they  had  $38 
left.  This  year  they  have  made  $20.  They  have  a  visiting  day 
once  every  two  weeks,  visiting  the  blind  and  poor,  and  taking  them 
food  and  flowers.  The  people  are  anxious  for  them  to  come,  and  in 
this  way  they  are  doing  much  good. 

Our  society  at  Athol  has  a  different  plan.  They  have  no  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  make  and  sell  things,  for  they  are  in  a  country  district,  so 
they  have  what  they  call  “mailing  day  ”  when  they  wrap,  fold,  and 
mail  papers  and  tracts  collected  during  the  month.  These  are  sent 
to  interested  persons  whom  they  found  when  out  with  the  Harvest  In¬ 
gathering  Review.  They  have  sent  away  five  hundred  papers,  besides 
many  tracts.  They  raise  their  money  by  canvassing,  selling  maga¬ 
zines,  and  “The  World’s  Crisis.”  They  have  earned  #20.30  in  this 
way. 

Our  South  Lancaster  societies,  due  to  local  conditions,  have  given 
more  attention  to  developing  programs.  In  this  way  we  have  done 
excellent  work  in  developing  leadership.  We  have  followed  the  pro¬ 
grams  in  the  Gazette.  We  found  the  Junior  lessons  difficult,  however, 
for  the  smaller  children.  So  the  teacher  arranged  simple  lessons  for 
them,  on  such  subjects  as  “Love  for  the  Birds,”  “Care  for  the  Un¬ 
fortunate,”  etc.  It  was  interesting  to  hear  them. 

In  the  intermediate  department  we  do  follow  the  lessons  in  the 
Gazette,  as  they  seem  exactly  adapted  to  the  intermediate  grades. 
Our  grammar  department  felt  that  the  Junior  programs  were  too 
simple  for  them,  so  they  used  the  Senior  lessons,  adapted.  This 
resulted  in  some  very  interesting  work  by  the  pupils  of  the  grammar 
grades. 

Our  offerings  have  been  very  large  in  our  South  Lancaster  societies. 
They  are  supporting  a  missionary,  and  are  keeping  up  a  regular  fund. 


FOREIGN  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER  WORK 

IN  AMERICA 

J.  J.  REIS  WIG 

The  workers  for  the  young  people  almost  tremble  when  they  read 
the  following  statements  from  the  Testimonies:  “Very  much  has  been 
lost  to  the  cause  of  God  by  lack  of  attention  to  the  young.”  Again: 
“We  have  an  army  of  youth  today  who  can  do  much  if  they  are 
properly  directed  and  encouraged.  We  want  our  children  to  believe 
the  truth;  we  want  them  to  be  blessed  of  God;  we  want  them  to  act 
a  part  in  well-organized  plans  for  helping  other  youth.”  “There  has 
been  altogether  too  little  attention  paid  to  our  children  and  youth. 
.  .  .  God  requires  that  the  church  arouse  from  her  lethargy,  and  see 
what  is  the  manner  of  service  demanded  of  her  at  this  time  of  peril.” 

If  this  is  applicable  to  the  English  work,  it  is  even  more  so  to  the 
German.  That  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work  can  be  made  a  suc¬ 
cess  has  been  proved  by  the  work  of  the  societies  in  our  English 
churches.  So  the  present  question  is,  Will  it  pay  to  put  forth  the  same 
effort  for  our  foreign  young  people  that  we  are  putting  forth  in  behalf 
of  our  English  youth? 

The  question  is  often  raised,  “Why  cannot  our  German  young 
people  organize  into  English  Missionary  Volunteer  Societies?” 

First,  I  wish  to  state  that  most  of  the  parents  of  these  young 
people  came  to  this  country  when  they  were  mature  and  developed 
in  character,  so  that  it  is  not  easy  for  them  to  change.  Second,  most 
of  them  are  unable  to  read  English,  and  understand  very  little  when 
a  Biblical  subject  is  presented.  They  would  understand  very  little  of 
what  an  English  Missionary  Volunteer  Society  was  doing  should  they 
visit  such  a  society.  Although  the  young  people  themselves  may  be 
able  to  speak  English  quite  fluently,  yet  when  it  is  necessary  to  use 
Biblical  terms,  they  are  unable  to  do  so. 

I  well  remember  the  first  prayer  that  I  offered  in  the  English 
language.  This  was  in  a  young  men’s  band  in  one  of  the  classrooms 
at  Union  College.  I  had  attended  the  English  public  schools,  and 
was  able  to  converse  with  an  American  enough  so  I  could  transact 
any  ordinary  business;  in  fact,  I  had  worked  for  business  firms  for  a 
number  of  years  before  I  went  to  Union  College.  And  yet  it  was  a 
great  struggle  for  me  to  offer  prayer  in  public  in  the  English  language. 
So  when  we  think  of  our  German  young  people  as  being  backward  in 
the  English  meetings,  we  must  remember  that  although  they  can 
speak  the  English  language,  perhaps,  fluently  outside  of  the  meeting, 
it  is  difficult  for  them  to  pray  and  testify  in  a  foreign  tongue. 

340 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


347 


I  have  heard  it  expressed  by  some  of  our  English  brethren  that  if 
they  were  over  in  Germany  they  would  want  their  children  to  learn  to 
speak  German,  and  they  cannot  see  why  the  German  brethren  want 
the  Missionary  Volunteer  meetings  carried  on  in  German  here  in 
America;  but  it  is  easier  for  us  in  America  to  say  what  we  would  do 
were  we  in  Germany,  than  it  would  be  for  us  to  do  it  were  we  sur¬ 
rounded  by  the  same  circumstances. 

I  believe  that  our  English  Missionary  Volunteer  workers  have 
not  yet  forgotten  the  opposition  they  met  from  some  of  the  German 
parents,  because  these  parents  felt  that  this  Missionary  Volunteer 
movement  would  separate  the  young  people  from  them,  and  this 
objection  was  made  when  the  parents  understood  every  word  that 
was  said  in  the  meetings.  Now  try  to  imagine  a  Missionary  Vol¬ 
unteer  Society  carried  on  in  German  by  young  people  whose  parents 
are  English  and  cannot  understand  what  is  going  on.  Would  such 
a  society  exist  long  ? 

I  am  sure  that  we  are  all  agreed,  if  we  want  to  work  for  the  young 
people,  we  must  get  the  cooperation  of  the  parents  first;  for  there  is 
no  worker,  however  competent  he  may  be,  that  can  do  more  for  the 
'  young  people  than  the  parents  can. 

Some  of  the  Needs 

One  of  our  greatest  needs  is  literature.  When  we  want  to  pre¬ 
sent  anything  along  Missionary  Volunteer  lines  before  our  German 
brethren,  we  are  obliged  to  translate  it.  After  this  special  campaign 
is  over  and  another  comes  on,  and  we  wish  to  do  anything  for  our 
German  young  people,  again  we  ask,  What  shall  we  send  them?  We 
have  no  literature.  I  believe  the  only  tract  in  the  Missionary  Vol¬ 
unteer  Series  that  has  been  printed  in  the  German  language  is  a 
portion  of  “  Organization,  ”  which  was  translated  by  Prof.  A.  F. 
Schmidt,  and  the  printing  was  paid  for  by  the  German  young  people 
in  North  Dakota.  We  did  this  because  we  felt  that  something  ought 
to  be  done  to  present  to  our  German  brethren  the  plan  upon  which 
the  Missionary  Volunteer  Societies  are  organized;  because  we  felt 
that  something  must  be  done  to  withstand  the  opposition  that  we 
had  to  meet  from  the  parents.  The  parents  are  afraid  that  these 
organizations  are  contrary  to  the  plan  of  church  organization,  and 
that  nothing  good  will  result.  We  believe  that  this  little  tract  has 
done  some  good,  but  it  does  not  meet  all  the  needs,  any  more  than  the 
English  tract  on  organization  can  meet  all  the  needs  of  the  English 
people. 

I  will  give  a  concrete  illustration  of  what  we  have  to  meet  in  the 
German  young  people’s  work.  When  the  Missionary  Volunteer 


348 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Day  was  set  apart  by  the  North  American  Conference  Committee 
for  May  I,  we  were  very  anxious  to  give  our  people  the  benefit  of 
those  good  articles,  but  as  there  was  no  one  especially  responsible  for 
the  translating  and  publishing  of  this  material,  and  as  every  one  in 
the  Missionary  Volunteer  work  was  already  overloaded  with  work, 
there  was  nothing  prepared  in  German  for  this  special  day.  The 
only  thing  we  could  now  do  would  be  to  translate  it  from  the  Review. 

First,  I  want  to  ask  the  Missionary  Volunteer  workers  if  they 
believe  that  a  conference  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary,  carrying 
both  the  educational  and  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work,  with  a 
list  of  young  people  numbering  about  one  thousand,  and  having  to 
translate  all  the  other  matter  that  is  to  go  to  the  societies  and  churches, 
can  find  enough  time  to  translate  all  these  articles  for  these  special 
days?  Now  remember  that  I  am  not  finding  fault  with  any  one  in 
the  office,  but  my  argument  is  simply  this:  That  a  worker,  whether 
he  is  employed  in  a  local  conference  or  in  the  General  Conference, 
has  enough  work  placed  before  him  to  keep  him  busy  without  trans¬ 
lating  these  articles  into  the  foreign  languages  and  circulating  them. 

What  we  have  at  present  for  our  German  young  people,  which  is 
very  little,  we  have  worked  up  ourselves.  We  did  this  with  heavy 
burdens  already  resting  upon  us,  but  we  did  the  best  we  could  under 
the  circumstances. 

One  fall,  while  Professor  Schmidt  and  I  were  out  visiting  some 
churches,  we  talked  to  them  about  the  Missionary  Volunteer 
work,  and  urged  them  to  take  the  Reading  Course.  Both  parents 
and  young  people  came  to  us  and  asked,  “Have  you  the  Reading 
Course  in  German?  and  what  books  do  you  read?”  We  told  them 
that  we  had  no  Reading  Course  in  German,  but  after  we  went  to  our 
room,  we  decided  to  have  a  German  Reading  Course  in  North  Dakota, 
if  we  had  to  run  the  questions  ourselves  on  the  typewriter.  And  so 
we  selected  the  books,  and  wrote  to  Sister  Erickson  for  permission  to 
conduct  a  German  Reading  Course.  She*  told  us  to  go  ahead,  and 
this  we  did.  We  tried  to  get  the  help  questions  into  the  Jugendbote, 
but  it  was  almost  impossible  at  first  to  do  anything.  We  finally  got 
them  to  print  the  help  questions,  and  later  the  review  questions. 

The  Reading  Course  needs  to  be  improved.  First,  there  is  no 
one  especially  responsible  for  selecting  the  books.  Thus  far  Professor 
Schmidt  and  I  have  taken  the  responsibility  upon  ourselves  to 
choose  some  books  and  recommend  them  to  the  General  Department, 
but  being  crowded  with  other  work,  it  is  left  until  quite  late,  and 
this  makes  it  inconvenient  and  unsatisfactory.  This  of  course  can 
scarcely  be  helped. 


349 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 

We  ought  to  have  more  leaflets  on  different  subjects  for  our  Ger¬ 
man  young  people.  There  are,  for  instance,  such  leaflets  as  “Charac¬ 
ter  Building,”  “Our  Influence,”  “The  Importance  of  the  Missionary 
Volunteer  Movement,”  “Marrying  Unbelievers,”  and  others  that 
should  be  printed  in  the  German  society  lessons. 

In  order  to  make  our  German  young  people’s  work  a  success, 
it  appears  to  me  that  we  should  have  some  one  who  could  give  this 
phase  of  the  work  special  study,  and  could  see  that  these  articles 
for  special  occasions,  and  such  other  articles  as  are  helpful  to  our 
parents  and  young  people,  are  translated  into  the  German.  Then  it 
should  be  his  duty  to  see  that  the  leaflets  and  other  publications  on 
the  Missionary  Volunteer  work  are  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  State 
secretaries.  You  might  call  him  a  German  corresponding  secretary. 
He  would  correspond  with  the  State  secretaries,  and  work  under  the 
direction  of  the  general  secretary,  in  harmony  with  the  general  plan 
of  organization.  I  believe  our  State  secretary  in  every  State  where 
we  have  German  young  people,  would  welcome  such  a  person  and  be 
willing  to  cooperate,  if  this  help  were  offered  him.  He  should  be  a 
person  who  could  be  called  upon  to  help  in  the  institute  work  among 
our  German  churches.  For  instance,  in  a  conference  where  they 
have  a  large  enough  German  constituency  to  warrant  it,  they  could 
let  him  know  beforehand,  and  he  could  go  out  and  visit  the  churches 
and  learn  the  situation,  get  acquainted  with  the  young  people  and 
parents,  and  then  stay  to  help  in  the  institute  work.  It  seems  to 
me  that  this  would  not  cause  a  great  deal  of  expense,  but  it  would 
be  a  great  help  to  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work  in  the  different 
conferences. 

I  do  not  wish  to  place  a  proposition  before  this  Council  which 
will  cause  an  outlay  of  money  without  any  returns,  but  I  am  confi¬ 
dent  of  this  one  thing,  that  if  we  expect  to  carry  on  the  Missionary 
Volunteer  work  among  our  German  young  people  and  make  it  a  success, 
some  one  must  be  responsible  for  this  work  that  has  been  mentioned 
above.  Much  more  even  might  be  mentioned  which  should  be  done. 
As  to  the  financial  outlay,  I  know  that  it  will  be  money  expended, 
but  I  do  believe  that  it  will  bring  returns  tenfold  in  the  salvation  of 
souls  and  in  dollars  and  cents  to  missions.  .  .  . 

I  believe  I  can  call  on  such  men  as  Elder  MacGuire,  Professor. 
Ruble,  and  others  who  have  visited  our  State  and  been  among  our 
German  churches  in  the  interest  of  the  Missionary  Volunteer  work, 
to  testify  that  the  young  people’s  work  among  our  German  young 
people  is  not  an  unfruitful  field.  The  young  people  are  respon¬ 
sive.  Most  of  them  are  eager  to  learn,  but  they  must  have  some  help. 

I  believe  that  much  more  might  have  been  accomplished  in  our  con- 


350 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


ference  if  we  had  had  the  help  in  literature  that  we  needed,  and  some 
experienced  German  person  who  understood  the  nature  of  the  German 
people  and  the  difficulties  that  come  to  us  in  these  churches. 

In  order  that  the  members  of  the  Council  may  see  for  themselves 
the  desire  among  our  churches  throughout  the  whole  United  States, 
I  wish  to  quote  a  few  statements  that  have  been  received  lately  from 
different  ones.  A  brother  from  Spokane,  Wash.,  says:  “  I  have  noticed 
for  .some  time  that  we  were  neglecting  our  German  young  people,  and 
many  are  going  out  into  the  world  because  we  lack  the  proper  material 
on  which  to  set  them  to  work.”  Another  brother  from  Saskatchewan 
writes:  “  May  the  Lord  bless  us  as  a  people  and  grant  that  something 
may  be  done  to  help  our  German  young  people,  so  that  they  may  yet 
be  saved.”  Another  one  writes:  “  I  am  glad  to  learn  that  something  is 
to  be  done  for  the  German  young  people.  This  branch  surely  needs 
some  definite  help.”  Brother  B.  E.  Miller,  superintendent  of  the 
German  work  in  the  East,  says:  “It  is  true  that  this  question  is  com¬ 
ing  up  again  and  again.  The  great  number  of  German  young  people 
without  any  particular  help  is  causing  a  revival  of  this  question,  and 
it  seems  that  we  have  waited  long  enough,  and  that  now  something 
should  be  done  for  them.”  He  says  further:  “The  German  young 
people’s  work  is  more  than  just  a  common  side  issue,  to  be  placed  on 
a  man  who  is  already  loaded  down  writh  work.  1  can  see  but  very 
little  light  in  such  an  arrangement.  However,  I  believe  that  some 
good  arrangement  could  be  made  if  some  one  could  spend  his  entire 
time  in  behalf  of  the  German  young  people.”  Elder  R.  A.  Underwood 
says:  “I  am  heartily  in  sympathy  with  the  suggestion,  and  I  hope 
that  the  movement  may  take  definite  shape  and  form.” 

So  we  might  go  on  indefinitely,  but  it  is  not  necessary.  In  clos¬ 
ing,  I  wish  only  to  state  that  I  do  hope  that  this  Council  will  look 
favorably  upon  the  selection  of  some  one  who  will  take  the  respon¬ 
sibility  and  help  us  to  make  the  German  Missionary  Volunteer  work 
what  the  Lord  desires  it  to  be. 

DISCUSSION 

M.  L.  Andreasen:  There  is  danger  that  our  foreign  young 
people  will  drift  off  and  not  be  in  harmony  with  the  organization. 
It  appears  almost  essential  that  some  one  from  each  of  these  nation¬ 
alities  be  selected  to  spend  at  least  a  part  of  his  time  looking  after 
this  work.  Our  young  people  know  not  what  is  going  on,  because 
they  are  not  in  touch  with  the  general  work. 

We  have  tried  to  do  what  we  could  at  Hutchinson  among  the 
Norwegians  and  Danes.  We  have  tried  to  keep  on  the  main  track, 
as  far  as  possible.  And  yet  it  is  not  an  easy  matter,  for  all  the 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


.  351 


material  has  to  be  translated.  I  might  say  that  there  is  danger  of 
our  having  too  much  translating  to  do.  There  are  hundreds,  and 
even  thousands,  of  these  foreign  young  people  who  need  help,  and  who 
can  receive  help  only  in  their  own  language.  They  love  God  and  love 
this  truth,  and  we  must  do  something  to  help  them. 

The  work  in  our  school  has  been  a  wonderful  blessing  to  us.  Our 
students  are  required  to  attend  both  the  Sabbath  school  and  the 
meeting;  but  we  made  a  rule  that  the  Missionary  Volunteer  meeting 
in  the  afternoon  should  be  voluntary;  and  on  account  of  the  perver¬ 
sity  of  human  nature,  everybody  came,  and  continued  to  come.  We 
have  seen  the  power  of  God  in  that  school  because  of  the  Young 
People’s  Missionary  Volunteer  work.  Souls  have  been  converted, 
and  wonderful  things  have  been  done. 

J.  H.  Schilling:  \  am  in  full  sympathy  with  the  paper  that  has 
been  read.  And  when  1  say  that  some  one  should  be  appointed  to 
do  this  Missionary  Volunteer  work  for  the  German  young  people, 
I  not  only  voice  my  own  opinion,  but  I  voice  the  opinion  of  all  our 
German  people,  as  well  as  the  opinion  of  our  two  leaders  in  the  Ger¬ 
man  work,  Elder  Miller  in  the  East  and  Elder  Haffner  in  the  West. 

VVe  have  at  least  five  thousand  German  believers  in  this  denomina¬ 
tion.  Most  of  them  are  in  Canada,  in  North  and  South  Dakota, 
Nebraska,  Kansas,  Oklahoma,  and  north  Texas,  and  some  are  in  the 
East.  That  is  stretching  over  quite  a  territory,  but,  as  I  said,  most 
of  them  are  in  the  States  that  I  especially  mentioned. 

Among  these  five  thousand  German  believers  in  North  America 
we  have  at  least  2,500  young  people,  1,800  from  twelve  to  twenty- 
five  years  of  age,  and  700  ranging  from  six  to  twelve  years  of  age, 
altogether  2,500.  Of  these  only  1,000  are  converted,  leaving  1,500 
to  be  labored  for  and  brought  to  Christ.  It  seems  to  me  that  these 
facts  should  appeal  forcibly  to  our  hearts  for  special  work  to  be 
done  for  these  dear  German  young  people.  The  German  work  is 
growing  quite  rapidly  in  these  States,  so  that  in  a  year  or  two  we  may 
be  able  to  count  nearly  3,000  young  people. 

Now  in  dealing  with  these  youth,  it  is  with  our  German  minis¬ 
ters  just  the  same  as  it  is  with  our  English  ministers:  they  have 
’their  work  to  do  in  their  territory,  and  they  have  no  time  to  give 
special  attention  to  the  young  people.  A  great  deal  more  might  be 
done  by  the  German  ministry  than  is  being  done;  but  they  feel  that 
they  have  so  much  to  do  that  they  cannot  devote  much  time  to  the 
young  people’s  work,  and  so  it  is  neglected.  We  really  feel  an  urgent 
and  pressing  need  for  some  one  to  take  this  up  as  an  exclusive  work, 
just  the  same  as  the  secretary  of  the  young  people  does  in  his  State. 
Such  a  person  would  certainly  have  enough  to  do  to  keep  him  more 
than  busy. 


352 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


The  paper  emphasizes  the  need  of  literature.  It  is  true  that  all 
the  literature  for  the  young  people’s  work  is  published  in  the  English 
language,  and  whenever  a  young  people’s  meeting  is  to  be  held, — 
a  Missionary  Volunteer  Day  or  some  other  special  meeting  where 
there  is  a  program  to  be  rendered, —  all  those  programs  and  the 
articles  and  everything  must  be  translated  into  the  German.  This 
makes  it  extremely  hard. 

Our  English  secretaries  have  been  working  hard  for  the  German 
young  people,  but  still,  since  no  German  literature  has  been  placed 
in  their  hands,  they  have  not  been  able  to  do  what  they  should  have 
done. 

We  definitely  need  to  have  some  one  placed  in  charge  of  this  work 
who  can  look  after  the  special  literature  of  the  society,  some  one  to 
whom  the  articles  and  programs  may  be  sent  early  enough,  before  the 
Missionary  Volunteer  Day,  or  the  Educational  Day,  etc.,  so  that 
the  literature  can  be  translated  into  the  German,  for  the  use  of  our 
German  young  people.  The  one  in  charge  should  be  a  man  under 
the  General  Conference  organization  of  the  Missionary  Volunteer 
work,  so  that  he  could  carry  out  the  plans  of  the  leading  men,  and 
apply  them  to  the  German  societies. 

II.  O.  Olson:  The  remarks  made  by  the  two  former  speakers 
apply  as  well  to  our  young  people’s  work  among  the  Swedish  people. 
Our  first  society  was  formed  at  the  school.  We  did  not  organize 
societies  in  our  Swedish  churches  until  later  in  the  year.  We  ap¬ 
pointed  our  stenographer  as  secretary  of  the  society,  because  he  did 
our  correspondence.  He  planned  to  visit  one  church  during  the  year, 
and  the  results  were  remarkable.  Ten  sets  of  books  were  ordered 
at  once. 

The  society  at  the  school  was  very  active,  and  we  had  a  number 
of  remarkable  evidences  of  success,  conversion,  not  among  students 
alone, —  those  who  had  not  been  converted  before  were  all  converted 
before  the  school  year  was  ended, —  but  people  in  near-by  villages  for 
whom  they  worked. 

The  separate  Reading  Courses  create  a  desire  for  Swedish  reading, 
and  make  a  field  for  our  school.  We  need  to  interest  our  young 
people  in  working  for  those  of  their  own  nationality,  because  there 
are  thousands  of  our  Swedish  people  in  the  various  cities  who  do  not 
understand  English  sufficiently  to  comprehend  a  sermon.  For  these 
we  have  to  carry  on  efforts  in  Swedish. 

M.  E.  Kern:  This  question  has  been  one  of  great  perplexity  to 
me.  I  feel  personally  that  it  would  be  an  excellent  thing  if  some  one 
could  be  appointed  as  assistant  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary  for 
each  of  those  languages  that  have  been  spoken  of,  especially  if  these 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


353 


persons  could  live  near  the  schools  of  these  foreign  departments; 
for  I  am  sure  that  the  German,  Danish-Norwegian,  and  Swedish 
societies  would  prove  to  be  great  factories  for  furnishing  recruits  for 
the  schools.  If  some  one  could  be  connected  with  each  school  who 
would  do  this  translating,  and  really  assist  us  in  our  efforts  for  the 
foreign  young  people  by  translating  and  by  helping  in  institutes 
where  it  seems  possible  to  do  that,  I  believe  the  work  for  these  na¬ 
tionalities  would  receive  a  great  uplift.  I  hope  that  something 
can  be  brought  about  that  will  not  be  too  expensive,  but  at  the  same 
time  will  be  efficient.  I  should  be  glad  to  hear  from  others  who 
know  about  the  situation. 

C.  L.  Benson:  I  feel  very  sympathetic  toward  these  brethren, 
with  their  thousands  of  young  people.  I  wish  that  our  English  sec¬ 
retaries  would  look  after  these  foreign  young  people;  and  as  you  take 
the  names  of  the  English  young  people,  and  send  them  to  the  different 
principals  of  the  English  schools,  I  wish  you  would  also  secure  the 
names  of  young  people  of  foreign  parentage,  and  send  them  to  the 
principals  of  the  foreign  schools. 

I  think  that  the  foreign  young  people  ought  to  be  encouraged  to 
take  the  Reading  Course  for  their  own  language.  We  ought  to  be 
just  as  loyal  to  our  foreign  as  to  our  English  schools.  That  is  one  of 
the  best  means  of  getting  into  the  hearts  of  these  fathers  and  mothers. 
Many  have  said  with  sorrow,  “Our  boys  and  girls  are  growing  away 
from  our  mother  tongue.”  I  wish  we  could  help  them  to  save  their 
boys  and  girls,  and  help  them  to  keep  their  language.  That  does  not 
mean  to  separate  them  from  our  other  societies,  but  to  encourage  them 
to  keep  in  touch  with  their  mother  tongue.  And  then  if  we  can  get 
them  to  attend  the  Danish  school  at  Hutchinson,  or  our  Swedish 
school  near  Chicago,  or  our  German  school,  let  us  do  it. 

Miss  Erickson:  When  I  was  in  the  office,  letters  would  come, 
saying,  “Can’t  you  give  us  help  for  our  German  young  people?” 
I  had  to  say,  “  I  do  not  know  anything  to  tell  you,  but  I  will  give  you 
Brother  Reiswig’s  address.” 

G.  E.  Nord:  Elder  Loughborough  once  made  this  remark: 
“This  is  an  age  of  blowdng  horns.  If  you  do  not  blow  your  own 
horn,  nobody  else  will  blow  it  for  you.”  I  was  interested  in  the 
paper  which  blew  the  horn  for  the  Germans,  the  Swedes,  and  the  Dan- 
ish-Norw?egians.  I  was  thinking  that  among  the  35,000,000  or  more 
foreigners  in  America,  perhaps  more  than  half  are  of  other  nation¬ 
alities  than  German,  Danish-Norwegian,  and  Swedish.  There  is 
no  one  here  to  blow  the  horn  for  them.  Among  the  10,000  foreign 
Sabbath  keepers  in  America,  9,000  are  Germans,  Danish-Norwregians, 
and  Swedes.  The  other  1.000  have  no  representative  here. 

23 


354 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


I  was  thinking  of  the  duty  of  our  young  people’s  societies  in  all 
the  States  toward  these  foreigners.  Of  all  the  foreigners  in  America, 
more  than  three  fourths,  perhaps,  live  in  the  cities.  It  is  estimated 
that  seventy  per  cent  of  the  population  of  Chicago  is  foreign.  We 
have  several  Missionary  Volunteer  Societies  organized  there.  It 
seems  to  me  that  we  are  putting  forth  a  strong  effort  through  our 
young  people’s  societies  in  raising  money  and  continually  calling 
their  attention  to  foreign  lands,  while  we  are  shamefully  neglecting 
the  thousands  and  millions  of  foreigners  who  come  into  the  territory 
of  our  conferences  every  year.  I  have  not  found  that  our  missionary 
societies  are  inspired  to  do  much  for  the  foreigners  in  the  large  cities 
in  the  way  of  distributing  literature. 

In  the  case  that  Brother  Olson  has  mentioned,  the  church  vis¬ 
ited  by  one  of  the  members  of  our  Missionary  Volunteer  Society  at 
the  school, —  that  was  a  Swedish  family  (and  by  the  way,  that  was 
the  only  Swedish  family  in  that  whole  village  of  about  2,000).  Since 
accepting  the  truth,  this  sister  has  given  hundreds  of  dollars  to  the 
cause.  She  has  interested  her  whole  family  in  the  truth,  and  I  think 
that  upwards  of  a  hundred  families  have  become  interested  through 
her  distribution  of  Swedish  literature.  That  is  partly  the  result  of 
the  organized  efforts  in  Missionary  Volunteer  work  of  our  Swedish 
seminary. 

I  know  of  only  four  Swedish  Missionary  Volunteer  Societies  in 
the  East.  In  New  York  City  we  organized  a  young  people’s  society. 
One  Sabbath  we  took  up  a  collection  for  literature  for  other  foreigners, 
and  we  interested  ourselves  especially  in  the  Finnish  and  Italian 
people.  That  Sabbath  we  received  larger  collections  than  on  any 
other  Sabbath  or  for  any  other  purpose.  Through  these  means  there 
are  several  Finns  and  Italians  in  the  truth,  and  they  have  the  same 
burden  on  their  hearts  that  the  Germans,  Danish-Norwegians,  and 
Swedes  have  for  their  people. 

I  was  also  thinking  of  the  advantage  it  would  be  to  our  work  if  we 
could  have  some  help  along  the  line  that  has  been  suggested  in  the 
paper;  and  I  have  thought  at  times,  with  the  heavy  work  our  super¬ 
intendents  have  in  these  foreign  departments,  that  if  they  could  have 
as  secretary  a  person  who  could  use  the  typewriter,  and  translate, 
and  visit  the  churches  occasionally,  and  organize  societies,  it  would 
be  a  great  help. 

There  are  about  200,000  Swedes  in  Chicago,  and  most  of  those 
who  are  native  born  came  to  this  country  after  they  were  twenty-one 
years  of  age.  While  they  learn  to  read  the  newspapers  here,  they 
cling  to  their  Swedish  Bible  and  they  read  Swedish  books.  We  have 
good  authors  and  good  translators,  and  they  want  these  books  in  their 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


355 


own  language.  I  trust  that  something  may  be  done  in  the  near  future 
to  reach  the  foreigners,  more  than  has  been  done  in  the  past. 

\V.  W.  Ruble:  One  needs  to  be  in  the  field  in  order  to  appreciate 
these  conditions.  There  are  large  German  churches  where  the  young 
people  can  scarcely  understand  what  you  say  to  them  in  English. 
I  do  not  think  that  this  prevails  quite  so  largely  among  the  Scandi¬ 
navians.  There  are  2,500  German  young  people  that  need  help.  It 
does  seem  to  me  that  we  ought  to  do  something  definite. 

N.  W.  Lawrence:  The  suggestion  made  in  regard  to  the  other 
nationalities  was  a  good  one.  We  have  a  great  many  Italians,  Jap¬ 
anese,  and  Chinese  in  this  Northwest  territory,  for  whom  we  are 
doing  very  little. 

Some  of  our  young  people’s  societies  in  localities  where  these 
nationalities  prevail,  are  making  a  very  earnest  effort  to  reach  them 
with  our  literature.  In  some  places,  where  the  English  can  be  under¬ 
stood,  we  are  doing  a  definite  work.  We  have  many  Italians  near 
College  Place,  and  quite  a  number  are  interested  in  the  truth, 
some  of  whom  are  almost  persuaded  to  become  members  of  the  de¬ 
nomination.  The  leader  of  one  of  our  societies  in  Portland,  Ore., 
says  that  they  are  handling  fifty  of  the  Chinese  Signs  of  the  Times 
each  month,  and  have  been  doing  it  for  four  years.  They  also  handle 
twenty-five  copies  of  the  Japanese  paper.  They  go  out  on  the  eve¬ 
ning  after  the  Sabbath  and  sell  these  papers,  and  send  the  returns  to 
the  mission  fields. 


DEVELOPMENT  AND  DIRECTION  OF  SOCIAL 
INSTINCTS  OF  YOUNG  PEOPLE 

M.  E.  KERN 

Man  a  Social  Being 

Man  is  social.  In  the  plan  of  God  we  are  dependent  upon  one 
another  in  every  way.  “Man  was  not  made  to  dwell  in  solitude;  he 
was  to  be  a  .social  being.” — “ Patriarchs  and  Prophets ,”  page  46. 

Having  created  our  social  instinct,  God  provides  for  its  gratification. 
Of  the  training  of  Israel  we  read  in  “Education:”  “The  author  of 
all  beauty,  himself  a  lover  of  the  beautiful,  God  provided  to  gratify 
in  his  children  the  love  of  beauty.  He  made  provision  also  for  their 
social  needs,  for  the  kindly  and  helpful  associations  that  do  so  much 
to  cultivate  sympathy  and  to  brighten  and  sweeten  life. 

“As  a  means  of  education,  an  important  place  was  filled  by  the 
feasts  of  Israel.  In  ordinary  life  the  family  was  both  a  school  and  a 


356 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


church,  the  parents  being  the  instructors  in  secular  and  religious  lines. 
But  three  times  a  year  seasons  were  appointed  for  social  intercourse 
and  worship.  .  .  . 

“The  experiences  of  the  past,  the  stories  that  both  old  and  young 
still  love  so  well,  were  recounted  to  the  Hebrew  children.  .  .  .  God’s 
commandments  were  chanted,  and,  bound  up  with  the  blessed  in¬ 
fluences  of  nature  and  of  kindly  human  association,  they  were  forever 
fixed  in  the  memory  of  many  a  child  and  youth.”  —  Pages  41,  42. 

Social  Instincts  of  Children  and  Youth 

In  the  beginning  the  infant  plays  alone,  by  creeping,  shaking, 
fondling,  etc.,  developing  the  simpler  instincts  through  curiosity  and 
experiment.  Later  the  child  begins  to  imagine  and  personify  in 
play,  and  manifests  a  desire  to  play  with  others.  The  social  instinct 
is  beginning  to  develop.  It  is  very  incomplete  at  first,  as  is  shown 
by  the  lack  of  team  work  in  play  which  is  developed  so  well  later. 

In  early  adolescence  comes  the  desire  for  comradeship,  and  the 
expression  of  social  cooperation,  which  is  manifested,  especially 
among  boys,  in  the  formation  of  gangs  and  other  spontaneous  organ¬ 
izations.  There  is  a  longing  for  friendship.  In  the  latter  part  of 
adolescence  these  social  instincts  are  more  fully  developed  as  the 
individual  experiences  the  complete  change  to  manhood  or  woman¬ 
hood,  and  realizes  more  and  more  the  responsibilities  and  issues  of 
life.  There  is  a  great  development  of  ideals  and  the  fixing  of  purposes 
to  do  things  in  life.  There  comes  a  longing  for  companionship  and 
sympathy.  During  this  period  the  mating  call  is  heard,  and  love 
for  the  opposite  sex  springs  up,  and  a  desire  for  social  gatherings 
manifests  itself. 

The  Need  of  Development  and  Direction  of  Social  Instincts 

These  social  instincts  in  the  lives  of  our  boys  and  girls  are  from 
God,  not  the  devil.  They  are  woven  into  the  very  fabric  of  human 
life  by  an  all-wise  Creator,  and  are  not  the  result  of  transgression. 
They  form  the  basis  for  the  very  highest  development  of  the  moral 
and  spiritual  life  of  man. 

The  boy  or  girl  who  habitually  seeks  solitude  is  ill,  physically, 
mentally,  or  spiritually,  and  needs  tender  sympathy  and  nurture, 
that  the  normal  life  may  be  restored.  We  are  told  in  the  Testimonies 
(Vol.  VI,  page  172),  that  “those  who  shut  themselves  up  within  them¬ 
selves,  who  are  unwilling  to  be  drawn  upon  to  bless  others  by  friendly 
associations,  lose  many  blessings;  for  by  mutual  contact  minds  re¬ 
ceive  polish  and  refinement;  by  social  intercourse,  acquaintances  are 
formed  and  friendships  contracted  which  result  in  a  unity  of  heart 
and  an  atmosphere  of  love  which  is  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  heaven.” 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


357 


Social  contact  is  necessary  to  the  proper  development  of  the  mind. 
“Iron  sharpeneth  iron;  so  a  man  sharpeneth  the  countenance  of  his 
friend.”  Prov.  27:  17.  It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  communal  ani¬ 
mals  are  more  intelligent  than  those  with  solitary  habits. 

The  social  touch  is  also  necessary  to  a  proper  religious  life.  “As 
in  water  face  answereth  to  face,  so  the  heart  of  man  to  man.”  Prov. 
27:  19.  Joyless  theology  results  in  fanaticism. 

Not  only  is  the  development  of  the  social  life  necessary  for  the 
success  and  happiness  of  the  individual,  but  it  furnishes  the  principal 
means  for  making  our  lives  helpful  to  others.  “Social  to  Save”  is 
the  happy  title  of  one  of  Amos  R.  Wells’s  little  books.  The  idea  is 
right.  In  Volume  VI  of  the  Testimonies  (page  172)  we  read,  “Espe¬ 
cially  should  those  who  have  tasted  the  love  of  Christ  develop  their 
social  powers,  for  in  this  way  they  may  win  souls  to  the  Saviour.” 
It  has  been  truly  said  that  sociability  and  spirituality  are  twin  broth¬ 
ers.  “The  friend  maker  is  the  disciple  winner.”  To  learn  how  to 

win  friends  is  to  equip  ourselves  to  win  souls. 

» 

The  Object  of  Satan’s  Special  Attacks 

It  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  an  element  of  human  life  which  is 
so  pregnant  with  possibilities  for  individual  happiness  and  blessing 
to  others,  should  be  the  special  object  of  Satan’s  attacks.  Satan  well 
knows  that  the  perversion  of  the  best  is  the  worst.  He  understands, 
too,  that  it  is  the  mistakes  of  youth  that  most  effectually  mar  the 
whole  life,  and  that  it  is  on  the  restless  sea  of  adolescence  that  he  can 
most  successfully  make  his  attacks.  Just  as  in  the  development  of 
the  reasoning  powers  during  this  period  there  is  great  danger  of  skep¬ 
ticism  and  doubt,  so  with  the  awakening  of  the  social  instincts  comes 
the  danger  of  their  perversion  into  the  desire  for  mere  selfish  gratifi¬ 
cation.  Instead  of  finding  joy  and  true  happiness  in  useful  work  and 
helpful  ministry,  he  leads  the  youth  to  seek  for  it  in  frivolity  and  sen¬ 
sual  indulgence.  Instead  of  considering  pleasure  a  by-product  of 
useful  work,  it  is  sought  for  as  an  end  in  itself. 

Geikie  says:  “The  craving  for  pleasure,  at  once  so  natural  and  so 
dangerous,  is  another  opening  to  weakness.  Youth,  sunny,  golden¬ 
haired  youth,  ought  to  be  happy,  and  is  made  to  be  so,  but  its  very 
ethereal  temper  is  its  peril.  It  can  find  delight  in  anything,  for  it 
carries  it  in  its  own  bosom.  Dull,  pleasureless  youth  is  another  name 
for  disease  or  oppression.  The  merry  laugh,  the  bright  smile,  the 
rejoicing  spirits,  are  gifts  of  God,  to  be  used,  not  repressed  and  for¬ 
bidden.  Seriousness  does  not  mean  solemnity,  and  is  all  the  truer 
and  deeper  as  the  counterpart  of  a  natural  gladness.  God  made  joy, 
and  the  devil  sorrow. 


358 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


“But  we  are  not  to  abuse  our  blessings,  or  surfeit  ourselves  with 
a  gluttony  of  either  one  kind  or  another.  Pleasure  worth  the  name 
must  be  innocent,  and  must  come  only  as  a  relaxation  from  work. 
To  give  oneself  up  to  it  is  to  miss  it  in  any  true  sense.” — “Entering  on 
Life,”  pages  17,  18. 

If  there  ever  was  a  time  when  the  individual  needs  strong  and 
sympathetic  friendship,  it  is  now.  Some  one  has  said,  perhaps  truly, 
that  the  strongest  influence  in  life  is  the  first  fast  friend  of  the  ado¬ 
lescent  period, —  some  one  who  has  been  over  the  road  before,  and  has 
not  forgotten  it,  some  one  who  has  love,  sympathy,  tact,  and  wisdom. 
I  recently  heard  Secretary  of  the  Navy  Daniels  say  that  if  he  ever 
was  tempted  to  doubt  the  wisdom  of  God,  it  was  because  young  men 
in  immaturity  are  required  to  make  decisions  which  affect  their  whole 
lives  for  weal  or  woe.  And  I  thought,  Well  might  we  question  the 
wisdom  of  such  an  arrangement  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  God 
provided  for  us  mothers  and  fathers,  and  friends  and  teachers,  in  this 
period  of  our  lives. 

Social  Life  in  the  Home 

The  first  responsibility  for  the  social  training  rests  upon  the  home. 
If  the  child  lives  in  a  happy  Christian  home,  one  of  culture  and  re¬ 
finement,  where  both  the  play  and  the  work  instincts  are  recognized 
and  utilized  in  the  educational  process,  a  home  that  becomes  its  own 
social  center  as  the  social  instincts  are  developed,  that  child  stands 
on  vantage  ground  in  the  fight  for  character.  But  so  often  our  homes 
are  like  old  wine  skins  with  the  new  wine  —  they  are  not  able  to  expand 
with  the  ferment  and  activity  of  youth.  Fathers  and  mothers  lose 
their  elasticity,  and  often  do  not  understand  their  changing  offspring, 
and  do  not  know  what  to  do;  with  the  result  that  the  home  walls  of 
restraint  are  broken  down,  and  the  young  people  are  left  to  the  mercy 
of  the  elements  outside.  Well  has  this  serious  problem  been  set  forth 
in  the  following  lines:  — 

“And  what  if  their  feet, 

Sent  out  of  our  houses,  sent  into  the  street, 

Should  step  round  the  corner  and  pause  at  the  door 
Where  other  boys’  feet  have  pausecf  often  before; 

Should  pass  through  the  gateway  of  glittering  light, 

Where  jokes  that  are  merry  and  songs  that  are  bright 
Ring  out  a  warm  welcome  with  flattering  voice, 

And  temptingly  say,  ‘Here’s  a  place  for  the  boys.’ 

Ah !  what  if  they  should  ?  What  if  your  boy  or  mine 
Should  cross  o’er  the  threshold  which  marks  out  the  line 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


359 


’Twixt  virtue  and  vice,  ’twixt  pureness  and  sin, 

And  leave  all  his  innocent  boyhood  within? 

Oh,  what  if  they  should,  because  you  and  I, 

While  the  days  and  the  months  and  the  years  hurry  by, 

Are  too  busy  with  cares  and  with  life’s  fleeting  joys, 

To  make  round  our  hearthstone  a  place  for  the  boys?” 

— Mrs .  Bertha  Me  Cullop 

There  is  great  danger  of  too  little  restraint,  and  there  is  also  danger 
of  too  much  restraint.  Parents  are  prone  to  treat  the  adolescent 
as  a  child.  This  is  fatal  to  good  discipline.  The  reins  are  tightened 
when  they  should  be  loosened.  “If  the  training  of  earlier  years  has 
been  good,  guidance  by  command  may  now  safely  give  way  to  that 
by  ideals,  which  are  sure  to  be  heroic.” — “  Youth,"  by  G.  Stanley  Hall, 
page  208. 

Forbush  says,  “It  is  the  evening  lamp  that  is  home’s  lighthouse. 
A  home  without  a  good  eventime  is  a  home  without  hope,  and  the  way 
a  boy’s  day  ends  at  home  is  a  prophecy  of  the  way  his  life  will  end. 
The  hour  after  sunset  is  the  sabbath  of  the  day.  It  seems,  too,  as 
if  the  very  years  of  crisis  were  those  most  neglected.  Many  parents 
today  are  like  cuckoos,  willing  to  leave  their  young  in  anybody  else’s 
nest.” — “  The  Boy  Problem,"  page  132. 

Duty  of  Teachers  and  Missionary  Volunteer  Workers 

We  are  here  to  consider- this  great  problem  in  all  its  bearings,  and 
especially  our  duty  as  teachers  and  Missionary  Volunteer  workers. 
Those  of  us  who  deal  with  young  people  are  practically  unanimous  in 
the  belief  that  we  have  here  an  ever-present,  perplexing,  yet  unsolved 
problem.  We  ought  to  approach  the  study  with  unbiased  minds  and 
a  desire  to  know  the  truth.  Too  long  we  have  hesitated  to  deal  with 
it,  except  as  it  has  been  forced  upon  us.  But  while  we  have  done 
little  in  a  positive  way,  the  young  people  have  been  active,  without 
guidance,  working  out  the  problem  —  in  the  majority  of  cases  to  their 
own  hurt.  It  is  a  problem  that  concerns  the  teachers,  not  merely 
that  order  and  proper  conduct  may  be  observed  in  the  school,  but  that 
the  young  people  may  receive  a  proper  social  training  to  enable  them 
to  win  people  to  the  truth  and  to  mold  the  sentiment  of  our  churches 
and  other  young  people  in  the  right  way.  And  while  it  is  a  great 
problem  in  our  schools,  it  is  still  more  perplexing  to  our  Missionary 
Volunteer  workers,  who  deal  with  young  people  at  longer  range  and 
without  the  help  furnished  by  the  social  and  spiritual  atmosphere  of 
a  school. 

I  trust  that  we  shall  give  earnest  and  prayerful  consideration  to 
this  important  question,  from  the  standpoint  of  God’s  revelation  in 


360 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


the  nature  of  children  and  young  people,  from  the  standpoint  of 
principles  laid  down  in  the  Bible  and  in  “Testimonies  for  the  Church,” 
and  from  the  standpoint  of  the  times  in  which  we  live.  I  hope  that 
as  a  result  of  this  study  we  shall  see  more  nearly  alike  on  the  question. 

There  is  one  thing  I  feel  very  clear  about,  and  that  is  that  we  are 
only  beginning  to  realize  God’s  great  ideal  for  us  in  Christian  educa¬ 
tion.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  messages  and  statements  in  the 
“Testimonies  for  the  Church”  which  seem  inexplicable  to  us,  because 
we  are  wedded  to  precedent  and  the  ways  in  which  we  were  taught, 
have  a  deeper  and  more  far-reaching  meaning  than  most  of  us  realize. 
I  feel  that  if  God’s  ideals  are  worked  out,  we  shall  have  an  altogether 
different  system  of  schools  and  different  methods  of  dealing  with  our 
young  people  than  the  world  has,  and  probably  quite  different  from 
what  we  now  have. 

Recreation 

It  has  been  said  that  “when  the  Almighty  made  the  first  man,  he 
made  the  world  significant;  but  when  he  made  the  first  boy,  he  made 
it  interesting;”  and  that  “if  God  made  man  out  of  dust,  he  surely 
made  boys  out  of  dust  and  electricity.”  It  seems  to  be  the  electricity 
that  constitutes  the  boy  problem. 

The  play  instinct  in  children  has  been  mentioned.  “This  trait,” 
said  one  of  our  conference  presidents,  “is  manifested  in  all  the  ani¬ 
mal  creation,  and  how  we  enjoy  it  in  them!  How  we  like  to  see  the 
little  lambs  skip  and  play!”  *  All  are  agreed,  I  think,  that  this  play 
instinct  in  children  is  a  part  of  their  true  nature.  It  is  the  attitude 
that  the  youth  assume  toward  these  matters  that  constitutes  the 
difficulty. 

When  properly  trained,  the  developing  child  will  have  a  growing 
sense  of  responsibility  and  a  decreasing  interest  in  amusement  for  its 
own  sake.  The  adolescent  budding  into  young  manhood  or  woman¬ 
hood  will  feel  a  new  sense  of  individual  responsibility.  Life  purposes 
will  be  formed  and  plans  laid  for  the  future.  Realizing  the  serious¬ 
ness  of  life,  the  young  people  will  plan  for  a  proper  use  of  their  time. 

How  sad  and  disappointing  it  would  be  to  see  a  child  of  ten  still 
finding  its  chief  delight  in  the  rattle  box,  and  taking  no  intelligent 
interest  in  what  goes  on  about  it,  as  long  as  its  physical  wants  are 
supplied!  But  this  would  be  no  more  disappointing  than  to  see  a 
young  person  of  twenty  neglecting  to  assume  the  responsibilities  that 
developing  manhood  or  womanhood  brings,  but  taking  life  as  one 
round  of  personal  pleasure,  satisfying  the  demands  of  appetite  and 
passion,  with  little  or  no  regard  for  future  consequences  to  himself  or 
others.  How  sad  to  see  youth  in  whom  is  developing  the  God-given 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


361 


passion  of  love,  playing  at  love.  Amos  R.  Wells  has  truly  said  that 
“  flirting  is  the  devil’s  counterfeit  of  love,”  “a  travesty  on  the  most 
sacred  thing  in  all  the  universe.” — “How  to  Play”  pages  72,  74. 

It  is,  however,  just  these  wrong  things  that  are  developed  in  the 
youth.  They  are  the  special  objects  of  Satan’s  attack.  Like  the  reck¬ 
less  boy  with  a  new  gun,  the  youth  are  led  to  use  their  newly  devel¬ 
oped  powers  of  reason,  initiative,  and  love,  to  their  own  and  others’ 
destruction.  “The  natural  mind  leans  toward  pleasure  and  self¬ 
gratification.  It  is  Satan’s  policy  to  fill  the  mind  with  a  desire  for 
worldly  amusement,  that  there  may  be  no  time  for  the  question, 
How  is  it  with  my  soul?” — “Counsels  to  Teachers”  page  325. 

In  speaking  of  recreations  at  school,  the  book  “Education”  says:  — 

“Teachers  are  troubled  as  they  consider  the  influence  of  these 
sports  both  on  the  student’s  progress  in  school  and  on  his  success  in 
after-life.  The  games  that  occupy  so  much  of  his  time  are  diverting 
the  mind  from  study.  They  are  not  helping  to  prepare  the  youth 
for  practical,  earnest  work  in  life.  Their  influence  does  not  tend  to¬ 
ward  refinement,  generosity,  or  real  manliness. 

“Some  of  the  most  popular  amusements,  such  as  football  and  box¬ 
ing,  have  become  schools  of  brutality.  They  are  developing  the  same 
characteristics  as  did  the  games  of  ancient  Rome.  The  love  of  dom¬ 
ination,  the  pride  in  mere  brute  force,  the  reckless  disregard  of  life, 
are  exerting  upon  the  youth  a  power  to  demoralize  that  is  appalling. 

“Other  athletic  games,  though  not  so  brutalizing,  are  scarcely  less 
objectionable,  because  of  the  excess  to  which  they  are  carried.  They 
stimulate  the  love  of  pleasure  and  excitement,  thus  fostering  a  dis¬ 
taste  for  useful  labor,  a  disposition  to  shun  practical  duties  and  re¬ 
sponsibilities.  They  tend  to  destroy  a  relish  for  life’s  sober  realities 
and  its  tranquil  enjoyments.  Thus  the  door  is  opened  to  dissipation 
and  lawlessness,  with  their  terrible  results.” — Pages  210,  211. 

Is  it  therefore  wrong  for  those  who  have  passed  the  period  of  child¬ 
hood  to  engage  in  any  games  or  sports?  Should  all  play  be  abandoned 
by  the  young  people? 

Before  pursuing  this  subject  farther,  it  may  be  well  to  distinguish 
between  recreation  and  amusement.  The  word  “amusement,”  in 
the  popular  sense,  is  not  a  very  worthy  word.  Mrs.  E.  G.  White 
makes  this  distinction.  In  “Education,”  page  207,  she  says:  — 

“There  is  a  distinction  between  recreation  and  amusement.  Rec¬ 
reation,  when  true  to  its  name,  re-creation,  tends  to  strengthen  and 
build  up.  Calling  us  aside  from  our  ordinary  cares  and  occupations,  it 
affords  refreshment  for  mind  and  body,  and  thus  enables  us  to  return 
with  new  vigor  to  the  earnest  work  of  life.  Amusement,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  sought  for  the  sake  of  pleasure,  and  is  often  carried  to  ex- 


362  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 

cess;  it  absorbs  the  energies  that  are  required  for  useful  work,  and 
thus  proves  a  hindrance  to  life’s  true  success.” 

The  word  “amusement”  is  not  always  used  by  her  in  the  bad 
sense,  however.  Personally  I  much  prefer  to  use  the  word  “recrea¬ 
tion”  in  speaking  of  wholesome  diversion  in  which  it  is  proper  and 
indeed  quite  necessary  for  all  to  engage. 

But  what  forms  of  recreation,  then,  are  proper  for  Christian  young 
people?  In  what  games  or  sports  may  they  engage?  This  is  a  very 
difficult  question  to  answer  specifically,  and  yet  the  principles,  I  think, 
are  quite  clear. 

In  the  first  place,  if  our  children  and  young  people  can  receive 
proper  industrial  training,  and  thorough  instruction  in  the  responsi¬ 
bilities  of  life  and  their  duty  to  God,  that  will  go  a  long  way  toward 
supplying  the  need  for  recreation  and  lessening  the  demand  for  sports 
and  games.  However,  I  do  not  believe  that  labor  can  fully  meet 
the  need  for  recreation.  Young  and  old  need  sometimes  to  lay  aside 
the  more  serious  duties  of  life  for  a  brief  time,  that  they  may  take 
them  up  later  with  new  vigor;  as  has  been  said,  “to  make  a  truce 
with  toil  and  care,  that  we  may  return  to  the  battle  with  stouter 
hearts  and  keener  weapons.”  The  young  people,  especially,  naturally 
desire  change  and  relaxation;  and  we  should  be  careful  not  to  look  at 
their  desires  in  an  unsympathetic  way,  or  merely  from  the  standpoint 
of  adults. 

In  studying  what  has  been  written  by  Mrs.  E.  G.  White  on  the 
subject  of  games,  it  seems  to  me  that  what  is  condemned  is  the  undue 
excitement  and  rivalry  in  sports,  and  the  making  of  play  an  end  in 
itself.  It  is  said  that  “Christians  have  many  sources  of  happiness  at 
their  command,  and  they  may  tell  with  unerring  accuracy  what  pleas¬ 
ures  are  lawful  and  right.  They  may  enjoy  such  recreations  as  will 
not  dissipate  the  mind  or  debase  the  soul,  such  as  will  not  disappoint, 
and  leave  a  sad  after-influence  to  destroy  self-respect  or  bar  the  way 
to  usefulness.” — “  Counsels  to  Teachers ,”  page  342. 

It  is  when  sports  or  games  come  to  be  the  principal  business,  an 
end  in  themselves,  that  these  evils  are  seen.  Amos  R.  Wells  has 
rightly  said,  “Sport  is  at  an  end  when  sport  is  made  the  end  of  sport. 
You  have  no  business  to  make  a  business  of  playing.”  And  further, 
“The  heart  of  the  game  is  not  the  score,  but  the  merriment;  not  to 
be  victorious,  but  to  be  vivacious;  not  to  beat,  but  to  romp.” — “ How 
to  Play,”  pages  34,  39. 

In  harmony  with  these  principles,  I  believe  it  is  the  duty  of  our 
schools  to  rule  out  all  sports  that  are  dangerous  to  the  body;  all  games, 
such  as  cards,  that  have  been  made  wrong  by  their  association  with 
evil;  and  to  prohibit  regular  team  organizations  and  the  playing  of 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


363 


match  games  either  in  or  out  of  school.  This  is  the  general  though 
perhaps  not  the  universal  rule.  I  do  not  see  how  we  can  obviate  the 
evils  mentioned  above  unless  we  take  our  stand  on  this  platform.  I 
have  known  Christian  young  men  to  become  so  infatuated  and  ex¬ 
cited  over  a  match  game  of  ball,  that  they  spent  time  on  the  Sabbath 
discussing  the  merits  of  the  game  and  how  their  side  could  win  next 
time. 

“The  desire  for  excitement  and  pleasing  entertainment  is  a  temp¬ 
tation  and  a  snare  to  God’s  people,  and  especially  to  the  young. 
Satan  is  constantly  preparing  inducements  to  attract  minds  from  the 
solemn  work  of  preparation  for  scenes  just  in  the  future.  Through 
the  agency  of  worldlings  he  keeps  up  a  continual  excitement  to  induce 
the  unwary  to  join  in  worldly  pleasures.” — “ Counsels  to  Teachers 
page  325. 

If  our  schools  and  Missionarv  Volunteer  workers  in  the  field  stand 

ml 

together  on  this  question  and  teach  the  same  thing,  we  may  hope 
to  save  many  of  our  young  people  from  the  evils  of  this  amusement- 
mad  age. 

It  does  not  seem  best  to  me  to  endeavor  to  give  a  list  of  games 
to  be  condemned  and  another  list  to  be  approved,  further  than  is 
stated  above.  A  game  that  many  would  condemn  may  be  played  by 
a  company  of  Christian  people  as  a  relaxation  from  toil,  with  no  harm¬ 
ful  results  whatever.  On  the  other  hand,  what  are  called  innocent 
games  may  be  played  in  a  very  unchristian  way  and  with  harmful 
results,  just  as  we  may  overeat  of  wholesome  food.  It  is  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  such  excesses.  I  believe,  that  so  many  games  are  mentioned 
in  the  “Testimonies  for  the  Church;”  for  it  seems  to  me  that  every 
class  of  game  I  have  ever  known  is  mentioned. 

If  our  Missionary  Volunteer  Department  can  succeed  in  its  heaven- 
appointed  task  of  enlisting  the  youth  of  the  church  in  the  various 
lines  of  Christian  activity,  and  inspiring  in  their  lives  a  passion  for 
souls  and.  an  earnest  longing  for  the  coming  of  Jesus,  I  believe  that 
there  will  be  no  more  feverish  desire  for  sports  and  games  for  their  own 
sake. 

Social  Gatherings 

The  laudable  desire  for  social  intercourse  and  its  great  benefit  have 
been  mentioned.  The  first  miracle  of  Jesus’  ministry  was  performed 
at  a  wedding  feast,  which  is  always  one  of  the  happiest  occasions  of 
human  life.  “That  opening,”  says  one,  “should  never  be  forgotten, 
for  it  spreads  its  glad  and  tender  coloring  over  all  the  rest.  We  are 
told  that  He  who  came  to  heal  all  sorrows  introduced  himself  with 
the  sunny  gladness  of  one  who  could  enter  into  all  pure  joys.” — 
“ Social  Plans,”  by  Reisner,  Pages  6,  7.  In  “Counsels  to  Teachers,'* 


364 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


(pages  338,  339)  we  read:  “ Gatheringsjfor  social  intercourse  may  be 
made  in  the  highest  degree  profitable  and  instructive  when  those  who 
meet  together  have  the  love  of  God  glowing  in  their  hearts,  when 
they  meet  to  exchange  thoughts  in  regard  to  the  Word  of  God,  or  to 
consider  methods  for  advancing  his  work  and  doing  good  to  their 
fellow  men.  When  nothing  is  said  or  done  to  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit 
of  God,  but  it  is  regarded  as  a  welcome  guest,  then  God  is  honored, 
and  those  who  meet  together  will  be  refreshed  and  strengthened.” 

How  different  the  possibilities  here  suggested,  from  the  following, 
in  the  same  chapter  (page  340):  “Many  .  .  .  gatherings  have  been 
presented  to  me.  I  have  seen  the  gayety,  the  display  in  dress,  the 
personal  adornment.  All  want  to  be  thought  brilliant,  and  give 
themselves  up  to  hilarity,  foolish  jesting,  cheap,  coarse  flattery,  and 
uproarious  laughter.  The  eyes  sparkle,  the  cheek  is  flushed,  conscience 
sleeps.” 

I  believe  that  our  schools  have  a  special  duty  to  perform  in  setting 
a  standard  for  proper  social  gatherings,  and  in  giving  proper  instruc¬ 
tion  to  our  young  people  along  these  lines.  Too  long  have  we  taken 
a  negative  attitude  in  regard  to  this  question,  with  the  result,  I  fear, 
that  many  young  people  have  received  a  wrong  impression  of  our  re¬ 
ligion  and  have  been  lost.  Such  is  the  general  negative  attitude  that 
we  often  fear  the  criticism  that  might  come  from  our  doing  something 
in  a  positive  way.  But  we  have  been  told  that  “something  perfectly 
harmless  should  be  substituted”  for  the  harmful  pleasures  of  the  world. 

Who  will  lead  out  in  setting  a  standard  of  proper  social  life  for  the 
Adventist  youth,  if  not  our  Christian  teachers?  Here,  it  seems  to 
me,  the  schools  and  Missionary  Volunteer  Department  might  well 
cooperate,  to  the  eternal  good  of  our  youth. 

In  all  these  matters  we  need  to  be  very  careful  not  to  frown  upon 
the  natural  buoyancy  of  youth.  There  is  danger  that  those  who  have 
constantly  to  deal  with  the  perversity  of  youth  shall  become  unsym¬ 
pathetic.  In  the  Testimonies,  Vol.  I,  p.  565,  we  read  of  “persons 
with  a  diseased  imagination,  to  whom  religion  is  a  tyrant,  ruling  them 
as  with  a  rod  of  iron.  ...  A  frown  is  ever  upon  their  countenances. 
.  .  .  They  consider  all  recreation  or  amusement  a  sin,  and  think  that 
the  mind  must  be  constantly  wrought  up  to  just  such  a  stern,  severe 
pitch.”  This  attitude  is  condemned.  How  can  we  ever  be  like  the 
little  children  whom  Jesus  presented  to  us  as  models,  if  we  lose  out 
of  our  lives  that  joyous  light-heartedness  which  is  their  preeminent 
charm?  No,  as  workers  for  young  people,  we  must  keep  young.  If 
we  do,  we  shall  live  longer,  and  be  able  to  do  more  good. 

May  the  Lord  help  us  as  laborers  for  the  young  to  train  the  whole 
being,  physically,  mentally,  socially,  and  spiritually. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


365 


DISCUSSION 

H.  A.  Morrison:  It  seems  to  me  that  we  ordinarily  look  at  a 
subject  to  a  large  degree  through  our  own  experience.  Two  or  three 
years  ago  I  felt  very  bad  physically  when  I  started  to  the  school. 
I  had  scarcely  enough  energy  to  get  there.  As  I  went  along  and  saw 
some  young  people  playing  games,  games  that  I  regarded  as  innocent, 
I  did  not  condemn  them,  yet  there  was  a  feeling  that  came  to  me, 
“How  can  they  spend  their  valuable  efforts  in  doing  that  kind  of 
thing?”  I  seemed  to  be  shutting  myself  up  to  the  work  I  had  to  do. 
Now,  it  did  not  change  in  the  least  my  opinion  as  to  whether  it  was 
right  or  wrong  for  those  individuals  to  play,  yet  my  mind  was  bestirred 
every  time  I  saw  them.  I  mention  this  because  there  is  a  tendency  for 
us  who  have  grown  older  and  have  borne  certain  responsibilities  and 
had  certain  work  to  do,  to  measure  others  entirely  by  our  own  ex¬ 
perience. 

I  also  desire  to  mention  another  point.  There  is  an  obligation 
resting  upon  teachers  and  parents  so  to  enter  into  play  that  our 
children  and  young  people  can  feel  that  we  are  their  companions, 
that  we  can  enter  in  with  them  and  act.  It  is  an  easy  thing  to  say 
that  this  is  wrong  and  that  is  wrong,  and  then  leave  it.  But  that 
does  not  lead  anywhere,  as  far  as  helping  the  children  is  concerned. 
The  thing  for  us  to  do  is  to  get  right  down  and  solve  this  problem 
with  the  youth.  They  are  willing  to  follow  us  if  we  will  lead  the 
way. 

Of  course  anything  that  brings  in  what  we  call  the  sporting  spirit 
should  be  entirely  dropped  out  of  our  work,  even  if  it  is  necessary  to 
stop  sport  that  might  otherwise  be  all  right.  I  think  it  is  possible  for 
that  spirit  to  come  in  with  some  things  which  might  be  carried  on 
without  it. 

It  is  of  great  importance  for  men  and  women  in  their  youth  to 
learn  how  to  take  recreation.  Likewise  it  is  also  of  great  impor¬ 
tance  for  them  after  they  have  grown  older.  One  of  our  principal 
difficulties  is  that  many  of  us,  as  we  have  grown  older,  have  not  known 
how  to  stop  and  take  some  kind  of  recreation  that  would  make  us 
stronger  men  and  women  in  working  for  God.  It  is  also  true  that 
those  who  have  learned  how  to  take  this  recreation  in  youth  and  carry 
it  on  in  their  later  years,  are  the  men  and  women  who  have  the  greater 
power  with  these  young  people.  They  are  the  men  and  women  who 
can  enter  in  and  lead  them  and  become  one  of  them.  So  I  think  that 
this  question  should  be  studied  and  spoken  to  from  this  point  of  view. 

I  have  studied  the  Testimonies  respecting  these  games  which  have 
been  mentioned,  and  I  find  that  they  are  nearly  always  mentioned 


366 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


in  a  manner  that  would  apparently  seem  to  condemn  them.  Yet  in 
nearly  all  of  these  it  appears  that  the  author  is  mentioning  the  excess, 
as  it  were.  It  is  the  excess  and  the  undue  rivalry  that  seem  to  be 
alluded  to.  It  is  true,  however,  that  all  of  these  games  are  somewhat 
dangerous,  because  of  the  evils  that  may  come  into  them.  But  we 
ought  not  to  say  we  will  not  have  anything  because  there  is  danger. 
I  tell  you  there  is  danger  in  living  in  this  world.  But  Christ  says, 
I  would  not  take  them  out  of  the  world,  but  leave  them  in  the  world 
and  keep  them  from  the  world. 

F.  Griggs:  I  wish  to  make  one  or  two  practical  suggestions. 
Froebel  says,  “Come  and  let  us  live  with  our  children.”  I  think  we 
might  on  all  occasions  —  and  I  do  not  know  but  that  it  involves  the 
same  idea  —  say,  “Come  and  let  us  play  with  our  children.”  Neither 
should  it  be  confined  to  the  little  children.  One  way  to  solve  this 
question  is  to  engage  in  and  help  to  direct  the  games  that  come  into 
our  schools.  I  think  that  this  supervision  will  do  away  to  a  great 
extent  with  this  spirit  that  is  so  detrimental. 

Another  thing:  1  think  giving  the  exact  length  of  time  that  the 
game  may  be  played  will  go  a  long  way  toward  controlling  the  situa¬ 
tion. 

I  also  wish  that  every  one  of  our  schools  had  a  good  swimming 
pool,  such  as  you  have  here.  It  is  a  splendid  recreation, —  re-creation, 
—  and  it  is  sometimes  exceedingly  handy  to  know  how  to  swim. 

Voice:  It  ought  to  be  part  of  the  college  course, 

F.  Griggs:  It  is  a  part  of  the  course  in  many  schools.  I  think  it 
would  be  a  good  thing  if  our  schools,  before  they  graduate  a  class, 
would  require  the  boys  to  learn  to  swim  and  the  girls  to  bake  bread. 
I  might  suggest  an  idea  that  has  come  to  me  from  the  Boy  Scout 
movement,— a  lively,  vigorous  “hike”  across  country.  This  would 
take  the  place  of  some  games,  and  give  the  exercise  that  is  needed. 
We  shall  find  many  things,  as  we  study  the  principles,  that  will  enable 
us  to  solve  the  question  in  a  very  helpful  way. 

I.  H.  Evans:  I  believe  that  it  is  just  as  much  the  duty  of  a  college 
or  a  training  school  to  train  our  children  physically  as  it  is  to  train 
them  mentally;  and  when  we  get  the  idea  that  physical  life  and  activ¬ 
ity  in  a  boy  are  just  as  valuable  as  mentality  in  a  man,  then  we  shall 
not  have  so  much  trouble  about  crying  “Don’t”  for  everything  the 
child  wants  to  do. 

Most  colleges  and  universities  are  developing  the  physical  side 
of  their  students.  They  are  providing  gymnasiums,  and  they  pro¬ 
vide  physical  culture  teachers.  They  are  teaching  boys  and  girls 
how  to  walk,  how  to  stand,  and  how  to  use  their  physical  ability; 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


367 


and  they  take  as  much  pride  and  satisfaction  in  this  as  in  mental 
progress,  and  even  give  grades  in  physical  standing,  the  same  as  they 
do  in  intellectual  standing. 

Now,  if  a  man  could  have  a  strong  body  and  a  weak  mind,  or  a 
strong  mind  and  a  sickly  body,  most  of  us  would  take  the  strong  body 
So  it  seems  to  me  we  shall  have  to  change  our  viewpoint  of  life  some¬ 
what  before  we  can  develop  our  children  aright.  We  must  regard 
physical  power  and  physical  strength  as  a  gift  of  God,  as  well  as 
mentality  and  mental  advance.  When  we  do,  our  children  will  have 
less  difficulty  in  getting  along  with  the  discipline. 

How  can  a  boy  whose  every  muscle  aches  to  do  something,  be  shut 
up  in  a  schoolroom  day  after  day  with  every  wall  and  every  teacher's 
eye  saying,  “Don’t  do  this;  don’t  do  that;  just  walk  steadily  to  your 
room;  and  the  more  sober  you  look  and  the  less  smiles  you  have,  the 
better  off  you  will  be,  and  the  less  trouble  you  will  give  us.” 

On  my  way  out  here  I  visited  a  friend  who  has  a  little  boy.  After 
breakfast  the  lad  came  to  me  and  wanted  to  know  if  I  did  not  want  to 
see  his  garden.  Of  course  that  would  please  his  mother,  and  I  said, 
“Yes.”  When  I  got  to  the  door,  he  pulled  a  ball  out  of  his  pocket, 
and  tossed  it  to  me.  We  threw  that  ball  until  I  was  tired.  Then  he 
said,  “Do  you  want  to  see  me  jump?  I  can  jump  three  level.” 

“Oh,  no,  you  can’t,  that  is  almost  as  high  as  your  head!” 

“I  can  jump  as  high  as  my  head.” 

He  brought  out  his  standards,  and  went  to  jumping  and  jumping, 
and  jumped  until  I  thought  he  would  kill  himself. 

Then  he  said,  “Come  out  and  see  my  chickens.” 

I  went  out  to  see  his  chickens,  and  there  was  a  ditch  back  of  the 
hencoop  about  twelve  feet  wide,  with  a  wall  on  the  other  side. 

He  said,  “Uncle,  will  you  give  me  a  nickel  if  I  jump  that  ditch?” 

I  said,  “Don’t  try  it,  you  will  hurt  yourself.”  But  before  I  had 
protested  with  enough  “don’ts,”  he  jumped. 

“Will  you  dare  me  to  jump  off  the  barn  and  clear  across  that 
ditch?” 

“For  pity’s  sake,  no!” 

“I  am  going  to  do  it.” 

Now  what  would  you  do  with  such  a  boy  in  the  schoolroom? 
He  would  tear  the  schoolhouse  down  if  you  didn’t  let  him  do  something. 

I  think  it  is  the  duty  of  professors  and  teachers,  and  men  who 
love  boys  and  girls,  to  teach  them  how  to  use  that  physical  strength, 
how  to  develop  it,  and  how  to  be  strong  physically  as  well  as  mentally. 
When  we  do  that,  we  shall  not  have  nearly  so  much  trouble  with  the 
boys  and  girls  that  are  strong  physicallyK  and  who  have  to  find  some 
vent  to  let  off  their  strength  or  else  explode. 


THE  NATURE  OF  YOUNG  PEOPLE,  AND  HOW 

TO  V/ IN  THEM 


MEADE  MAC  GUIRE 

“Behold,  one  came  and  said  unto  him,  Good  Master,  what  good 
thing  shall  I  do,  that  I  may  have  eternal  life?  And  he  said  unto 
him,  Why  callest  thou  me  good?  there  is  none  good  but  one,  that 
is,  God:  but  if  thou  wilt  enter  into  life,  keep  the  commandments. 
.  .  .The  young  man  saith  unto  him,  All  these  things  have  I  kept  from 
my  youth  up:  what  lack  I  yet?”  “Then  Jesus  beholding  him  loved 
him,  and  said  unto  him,  One  thing  thou  lackest:  go  thy  way,  sell 
whatsoever  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treas¬ 
ure  in  heaven:  and  come,  take  up  the  cross,  and  follow  me.  And  he 
was  sad  at  that  saying,  and  went  away  grieved:  for  he  had  great 
possessions.” 

Jesus  loved  him,  and  spoke  to  him,  but  it  was  too  late.  His  ideals 
of  life  had  been  fixed,  his  habits  formed,  his  profession  and  his  asso¬ 
ciates  chosen,  and  he  had  not  the  courage  to  break  with  them  all  and 
follow  Jesus.  So  inexorably  do  the  training  and  environment  and 
habits  of  early  life  mold  and  hold  within  their  grasp  all  the  years  of 
maturity. 

In  the  morning  we  mix  our  cement,  and  it  is  so  soft  and  yielding 
that  it  can  be  molded  by  the  hand  of  a  child.  A  little  later  it  re¬ 
quires  a  hard  wooden  wedge;  at  noon,  an  iron  chisel  and  a  hammer; 
and  at  night  even  these  are  broken  against  the  flinty  rock.  We  are 
dealing  with  the  tender  minds  in  the  morning  of  life,  when  they  are 
as  plastic  as  wax;  and  the  impressions  we  make,  whether  uncon¬ 
sciously  or  carelessly,  or  with  a  deep  sense  of  our  responsibility  and 
privilege,  may  go  on  exerting  a  profound  influence  to  the  end  of  time, 
and  into  the  great  beyond,  for  “what  we  put  into  the  first  of  life,  we 
put  into  all  of  life.” 

This  is  preeminently  an  age  of  investigation  and  analysis.  Men 
are  not  only  giving  their  attention  to  the  study  of  natural  law  in  the 
material  world,  but  they  have  turned  at  last  to  a  study  of  infinitely 
greater  importance  and  more  absorbing  interest.  And  they  have  been 
rewarded  by  awakening  the  world  to  the  fact  that  there  is  no  more  fas¬ 
cinating  or  remunerative  study  in  all  the  range  of  human  knowledge 
than  the  natural  laws  operating  in  the  mental  and  spiritual  realm  of 
childhood. 

Nor  are  we  circumscribed  by  extreme  limits  of  time  or  obscurity 
of  transition  from  stage  to  stage  of  development.  It  is  interesting 
to  compare  the  preparatory  period  of  life  in  the  child  and  in  the  lower 
368 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


369 


animals.  A  cat  is  a  kitten  for  about  one  twelfth  of  its  life;  a  dog  is  a 
puppy  about  one  tenth  of  its  life;  and  it  takes  a  horse  about  one  sev¬ 
enth  of  its  life  to  come  to  full  growth;  but  it  takes  a  human  being  about 
one  fourth  of  the  whole  span  of  life  to  come  to  maturity. 

This  period  of  preparation  has  been  divided  into  various  stages 
more  or  less  clearly  indicated  by  the  development  of  the  primary 
instincts  and  impulses.  And  it  is  in  this  development  that  we  see 
distinctly  the  operation  of  natural  laws.  These  laws  any  intelligent 
person  can  observe,  and  surely  any  person  who  works  in  harmony 
with  the  laws  ordained  of  God,  may  hope  for  greater  success  than  one 
who  is  purposely  and  willfully  ignorant  of  them. 

We  have  heard  people  exercise  their  wit  at  the  expense  of  others 
who,  though  they  had  no  children  of  their  own,  had  seen  the  impor¬ 
tance  and  possibilities  of  observation  and  child  study,  and  were  de¬ 
sirous  of  enlightening  and  helping  others.  Perhaps  criticism  was 
justifiable  in  some  cases,  but  we  have  seen  the  same  critic  violating 
a  natural  law  in  dealing  with  his  children,  which  is  as  simple  and  as 
inexorable  in  its  operation  as  the  first  commandment  of  the  decalogue. 
He  was  alienating  his  child’s  affections,  hardening  its  sensitive  moral 
and  spiritual  nature,  and  priding  himself  on  the  fact  that  the  older 
he  was  and  the  more  children  he  had,  the  less  he  knew  about  child 
training. 

The  wise  man  said,  "A  soft  answer  turneth  away  wrath:  but 
grievous  words  stir  up  anger.”  To  state  the  law  in  three  words, 
Like  excites  like.  Anger  excites  anger;  fear  excites  fear;  selfishness 
excites  selfishness;  while  on  the  other  hand,  patience  excites  patience; 
meekness  excites  meekness;  and  love  begets  love.  It  may  be  that 
many  parents  understand  this  law;  but  if  so,  what  a  pity  that  they  do 
not  live  in  harmony  with  it! 

In  studying  child  nature,  or  human  nature,  it  is  not  difficult  to 
discover  at  least  some  of  these  elementary  laws  which  are  so  helpful, 
and  which  may  contribute  .so  much  to  the  success  of  parent  and 
teacher. 

For  convenience  we  might  divide  the  period  of  early  life  as  fol¬ 


lows:  — 

YEARS 

Infancy  or  early  childhood .  i  to  6 

Childhood .  6  to  9 

Junior  age .  9  to  12 

Early  adolescence . 12  to  16 

Adolescence . 17  to  23 


In  this  paper  we  shall  treat  only  of  the  last  two  periods.  Even  here 
we  are  handicapped  by  the  fact  that  upon  certain  points  the  nature  of 

24 


370 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


the  two  sexes  is  so  radically  different  that  our  remarks  must  necessarily 
be  quite  general. 

Early  Adolescence 

An  important  fact  constantly  disregarded  is  that  the  puberal 
change  leaves  the  child  a  wholly  different  being,  different  mentally, 
physically,  morally,  and  ethically  from  the  children  in  the  stage  just 
left  behind. 

At  this  age  a  boy  is  not  a  larger  child,  nor  is  he  a  “little  man;” 
he  is  a  youth  in  the  transition  from  childhood  to  manhood.  His 
nature  is  unlike  what  has  preceded  or  what  is  to  follow,  and  so  is  his 
religion.  Therefore  all  our  efforts  and  our  methods  and  our  very 
personality  must  be  adapted  to  the  singular  and  extraordinary  needs 
of  this  time.  “The  changes  which  come  with  the  soul’s  awakening 
are  so  great  that  often  a  youth  becomes  a  stranger  to  those  who  have 
known  him  best.” 

Not  only  professional  psychologists,  but  other  thoughtful  students 
of  child  life,  and  even  we  ourselves  with  a  little  introspective  study, 
will  agree  that  this  is  the  life  crisis  —  the  time  of  the  new  birth, 
physical,  mental,  and  spiritual. 

Physical  Development 

While  we  have  all  observed  the  rapid  physical  development  at 
this  age,  we  are  surprised  when  this  growth  is  reduced  to  figures.  For 
example,  while  the  heart  of  a  child  of  ten  weighs  about  115  grams, 
at  the  age  of  seventeen  it  weighs  230  grams.  Heart,  lungs,  stomach, 
and  other  organs  about  double  in  size  during  the  months  of  early 
adolescence.  A  boy  may  grow  so  rapidly  that  an  inch  in  height  and 
twenty  pounds  in  weight  are  added  in  a  single  month. 

At  this  point  lies  a  cause  of  much  misunderstanding,  and  often 
mental  suffering  on  the  part  of  the  youth.  This  extraordinary  growth 
is  necessarily  attended  with  a  decrease  of  vigor  and  endurance  in 
proportion  to  size,  since  the  vital  forces  are  so  fully  occupied  with 
the  task  of  building  up  the  body.  This  leads  to  the  accusation  that 
big,  awkward  John,  who  was  such  a  splendid  worker  as  a  little  boy, 
has  developed  an  unaccountable  lazy  streak.  Children  at  this  age 
should  be  allowed  plenty  of  sleep,  plenty  of  nourishing  food,  plenty 
of  outdoor  exercise,  and  plenty  of  patience. 

This  is  a  time  when  hereditary  traits  are  strongly  marked,  and 
the  loving,  discerning  parent  or  teacher  may  often  discover  an  ex¬ 
tremely  helpful  avenue  to  the  child’s  heart.  If  we  are  ever  to  help 
him  overcome  unfortunate  hereditary  tendencies,  now  is  the  time  to 
exert  all  our  efforts,  and  secure  his  cooperation. 


U 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


371 


Mental  Development 

The  mind  of  the  youth  at  this  time  is  very  active.  It  is  the  golden 
age  of  memory.  The  reasoning  faculties  are  developing,  and  if 
rightly  directed,  may  greatly  strengthen  the  moral  and  religious 
convictions  which  are  beginning  to  take  shape  in  the  mind.  But 
care  should  be  taken  not  to  overtax  the  mental  powers,  for  it  must 
not  be  forgotten  that  the  vital  forces  are  being  taxed  to  the  utmost 
with  the  physical  growth. 

Among  the  characteristics  attributed  to  this  age,  we  are  told  by 
one  writer,  is  “rebellion  against  authority;”  while  another  equally 
well-known  author  asserts  that  the  boy  in  early  adolescence  has  a 
“supreme  regard  for  authority.”  Doubtless  both  are  right.  The 
boy  reveres  military  or  civil  authority;  the  leader  of  the  gang  must  be 
obeyed,  whether  he  poses  as  a  good-natured  and  indulgent  chieftain, 
or  a  haughty  and  tyrannical  autocrat. 

On  the  other  hand,  parental  authority  is  often  irksome,  partly 
because  of  the  developing  self-consciousness  and  sense  of  respon¬ 
sibility  to  take  command  of  his  own  life,  and  partly  from  a  lack  of 
understanding  of  his  nature  by  his  parents.  Few  seem  to  realize 
what  an  extremely  critical  time  this  is  for  the  training  of  the  will. 
How  many  young  men  and  women  we  have  with  no  backbone!  They 
go  out  to  live  negative  lives,  which  one  of  our  university  presidents 
says  actually  do  more  harm  than  positively  bad  lives.  What  they 
need  is  not  to  have  the  will  broken  or  overridden,  but  so  patiently 
and  kindly  directed  that  they  will  go  out  with  strong,  well-balanced 
convictions  to  live  lives  positive  for  good. 

Another  prominent  characteristic  of  youth  is  fickleness,  vacil¬ 
lation,  and  a  lack  of  continuous  interest.  Parents  are  sorely  per¬ 
plexed  to  see  the  youth  turn  today  from  some  enterprise  in  which 
enthusiasm  ran  high  yesterday.  They  fear  he  will  never  amount  to 
anything,  and  too  often  they  tell  him  so.  Seeing  his  abounding 
energy  and  enthusiasm  for  play  or  amusement,  they  do  not  realize 
that  he  never  before  has  run  and  never  again  will  run  on  so  narrow  a 
margin  of  reserve  vitality.  Nature  is  using  it  in  his  rapid  growth, 
and  that  is  why  he  so  quickly  tires  of  what  he  undertakes.  Here  the 
mental  equilibrium  is  so  delicately  balanced  that  the  youth  fluctuates 
from  the  heights  of  unconquerable  purpose  and  enthusiasm,  to  the 
depth  of  discouragement  and  hopeless  lack  of  interest.  Oh,  how  often 
he  is  hurt  by  discouragement  at  this  point!  And  what  is  the  result? 
Statistics  show  that  this  is  the  time  of  the  largest  number  of  com¬ 
mitments  for  crime.  A  boy  who  is  discouraged  may  be  more  reck¬ 
less  than  a  man,  because  he  has  a  much  more  limited  conception  of 


372 


EDUCxYTIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


the  consequences  of  wrong-doing.  While  many  go  wrong  because  of 
a  lack  of  discipline  and  training  to  obedience  in  early  life,  there  are 
others  who  might  be  saved  at  this  critical  point  by  a  judicious  relax¬ 
ation  of  parental  authority. 

The  youth  is  also  extremely  susceptible  to  the  influences  which 
come  into  his  life  from  a  new-found  friend  or  a  fascinating  book. 
A  sermon  or  a  picture  or  a  passing  word  of  condemnation  or  of  ap¬ 
proval  may  profoundly  influence  the  whole  after-life.  “He  hears 
the  siren  voices  of  passion,  society,  wealth,  and  fame,  and  the  clear 
call  of  self-sacrifice  and  duty,  and  the  soul  is  bewildered,  not  knowing 
which  to  heed.”  He  has  the  temptations  of  a  man,  with  the  knowl¬ 
edge  and  judgment  of  a  child.  His  very  instability  as  he  drifts 
about  in  doubt  as  to  the  best  place  to  cast  his  anchor,  without  settled 
ambitions  or  fixed  ideals  or  chosen  career,  should  be  the  strongest 
appeal  to  us  to  surround  him  with  helpful  influences. 

And  one  of  the  most  effective  ways  of  helping  him  to  develop 
noble  and  manly  principles,  and  to  assert  the  courage  of  his  convic¬ 
tions,  is  to  show  confidence  in  him  and  in  his  purpose  to  do  right. 
More  than  at  any  other  time  in  life  he  appreciates  being  consulted 
and  treated  as  an  equal,  and  being  placed  on  his  honor  and  trusted. 
O  for  more  parents  and  teachers  who  have  a  deep  appreciation  of  the 
privilege  of  understanding  the  youth  and  wanning  their  confidence! 
Who  would  not  rather  be  the  hero  of  a  child  of  twelve,  than  the  might¬ 
iest  monarch  on  an  earthly  throne? 

Another  very  apparent  characteristic  of  youth  ’  is  their  extremes 
of  experience,  with  emotional  activity  given  expression  in  slang,  and 
bywords,  and  the  extravagant  use  of  adjectives.  This  is  sometimes 
very  trying  to  the  teacher  (unless  she  still  indulges  in  it  herself),  but 
patience  and  love  will  invent  some  other  emotional  safety-valve 
which  will  be  innocent  and  harmless,  and  wall  tend  upward  toward 
refinement  and  nobility. 

Still  another  characteristic  is  the  strong  social  instinct  developing 
at  this  time.  There  is  a  longing  for  friendship  and  sympathy  — 
the  boy  worships  his  hero,  and  the  girl  adores  her  heroine.  With 
the  combined  pressure  of  developing  physical  powers,  self-conscious¬ 
ness,  altruism,  and  emotional  activity,  the  youth  long  for  comrade¬ 
ship  among  their  fellows,  and  also  for  a  friend  higher  up  who  has 
crossed  the  stormy  straits  of  early  adolescence  and  is  safe  on  terra 
firma  again.  Those  noble  men  and  women,  who,  wdth  a  delicate 
sense  of  discernment  of  the  significance  of  this  craving,  respond  to 
the  lavish  devotion  of  these  youth,  may  exert  a  profound  and  whole¬ 
some  influence  upon  their  whole  after-life.  Lest  some  one  should 
fail  to  understand  the  terms  used  in  the  last  sentence,  I  may  say  that, 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


373 


however  eager  we  may  be  for  the  appearance  of  manly  refinement 
and  womanly  dignity,  we  might  make  a  longer  stride  toward  a  boy’s 
heart  by  slapping  him  on  the  back  and  calling  him  Bill  than  by  all 
manner  of  affectionate  expressions;  and  the  beautiful  devotion  of  the 
girl,  which  sounds  so  well  on  paper,  might  be  termed  by  a  less  loving 
and  appreciative  friend,  silly  sentimentalism. 

Religious  Awakening 

The  period  marked  by  so  striking  a  development,  physical  and 
mental,  is  also  characterized  by  a  corresponding  moral  awakening. 
This  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  more  than  three  fourths  of  all  the 
conversions  take  place  during  this  time.  It  is  said  that  from  seventy- 
five  to  ninety  per  cent  of  the  members  of  the  Protestant  churches  of 
America  were  converted  before  they  were  twenty-three.  Of  the 
seventy-seven  young  people  here  at  Pacific  Union  College  who  told 
me  the  age  of  their  conversion,  the  average  was  sixteen  and  one-half 
years.  This  is  therefore  the  time  when  we  are  to  be  especially  alert 
to  cooperate  with  God,  as  he  operates  through  natural  laws  to  bring 
about  the  moral  awakening  and  sense  of  responsibility  which  precedes 
the  miracle  of  conversion,  or  the  new  birth. 

This  moral  awakening,  like  the  physical  and  mental  development, 
is  characterized  by  the  storm  and  stress  of  conflicting  emotions  and 
developing  faculties.  Joy  and  enthusiasm  alternate  with  doubt  and 
discouragement,  while  a  constant  struggle  goes  on  between  hope  in 
God  and  consciousness  of  failure  to  reach  the  soul’s  high  ideal. 

The  other  day  a  girl  in  early  adolescence  said  to  me,  “I  have  not 
the  slightest  care  for  religion  or  God.  I  am  having  a  good  time  in 
the  world,  and  am  happy,  and  satisfied  to  live  a  day  at  a  time.” 
After  talking  pleasantly  a  few  moments,  she  said,  “I  am  the  most 
wretched  girl  in  the  world.  I  know  the  things  of  this  world  are  shallow 
and  do  not  satisfy,  and  I  often  wish  I  had  never  been  born.  If  I 
were  not  such  a  coward  I  would  kill  myself.”  A  little  later  she  said, 
“Of  course  I  want  to  be  a  Christian,  everybody  does  who  has  any 
sense;  but  I  just  cannot  be  a  good  Christian,  and  I  won’t  be  a  hypo¬ 
crite.” 

A  boy  of  about  the  same  age  said,  “Aw,  I  don’t  want  to  hear 
anything  about  religion;  that’s  all  I’ve  heard  since  I  was  a  little  kid. 
I  intend  to  get  out  in  the  world  and  have  a  good  time.”  But  a  few 
hours  later  he  was  back,  humble  and  conscience-stricken,  saying, 
“  I  am  sorry  for  what  I  said.  I  know  I  ought  to  be  a  Christian,  and 
sometimes  I  try  the  very  best  I  know  how,  but  it  seems  as  though  I 
fail  worse  each  time.” 


374 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


The  fact  is,  these  children  have  high  ideals,  and  they  are  not 
content,  as  many  of  us  older  ones  are,  to  profess  to  be  disciples  of 
Christ,  and  live  so  far  beneath  our  Example. 

It  is  very  important  at  this  time  that  we  should  present  Jesus  to 
these  young  idealists  as  a  positive  character.  The  fact  that  he  never 
did  anything  wrong  does  not  appeal  to  them,  but  they  may  be  deeply 
impressed  by  his  mighty  achievements.  Teach  Jesus  as  the  noblest, 
bravest,  and  truest  hero  who  ever  lived;  the  one  who  faced  the  hatred 
of  men,  as  well  as  mighty  invisible  foes,  fighting  on  day  by  day, 
calmly  and  unflinchingly;  one  who  could  never  endure  to  see  women 
abused  or  children  treated  unkindly;  and  above  all,  one  who  has 
w'rought  a  mighty  miracle  in  thousands  of  the  most  wicked  and  hope¬ 
less  men  and  women,  and  made  them  pure  and  beautiful  like  himself. 

Then  we  must  not  forget  that  a  youth’s  religion  must  fit  his  nature 
and  meet  his  needs.  The  things  which  appeal  to  and  satisfy  adult 
saints,  will  not  be  the  best  for  boy  saints  —  and  the  boys  are  none 
the  less  saints  because  of  this. 

It  is  encouraging  to  know  that  we  do  not  have  to  spend  much 
time  persuading  young  people  that  they  ought  to  do  the  right  things, 
or  getting  up  their  enthusiasm  for  it.  God  and  nature  have  done 
that.  We  have  to  hold  up  the  right  ideal,  and  the  whole  impulse  of 
their  better  nature  will  drive  them  toward  it,  for  they  are  essentially 
idealists.  The  more  exacting  our  standards,  the  more  heroic  our 
appeal,  the  more  response  we  are  likely  to  awaken  in  their  eager  souls. 

There  is  likely  to  come  a  time  in  the  young  person’s  experience  when 
doubts  and  questions  arise.  Not  all  cases  can  be  treated  alike,  but 
all  must  be  treated  with  perfect  frankness  and  candor.  Scoffing  or 
ridicule  may  seal  their  lips,  but  it  does  not  dispel  their  doubts.  If 
they  are  made  to  understand  that  such  an  experience  is  common  to 
the  developing  reasoning  faculties,  and  that  this  question  and  the 
desire  to  be  certain  of  every  step  does  not  necessarily  indicate  a  des¬ 
perate  case,  they  may  more  easily  get  their  feet  on  the  solid  rock  of 
faith. 

Probably  one  of  the  greatest,  most  persistent,  most  perplexing  of 
all  the  problems  the  youth  have  to  meet  in  this  generation  is  that  of 
social  purity.  Wherever  he  goes,  in  private  or  in  public,  in  the  school, 
on  the  streets,  in  solitude  and  in  society,  practically  every  youth  is 
confronted  and  assailed  by  temptation  to  physical  or  social  or  mental 
impurity. 

Some  way  it  does  seem  pathetic  to  me,  that  on  the  very  point 
which,  above  all  others,  wflth  the  exception  of  religion,  he  needs  wise, 
kind,  sensible  help,  we  are  all  dumb.  Every  one  seems  to  be  fright¬ 
ened  or  ignorant  or  indifferent.  We  seem  to  be  afraid  even  to  talk 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


375 


the  matter  over  among  ourselves,  and  to  study  and  pray  for  help 
from  above  to  stem  the  tide  and  to  protect  our  young  people  from  the 
evil  suggestions  which  they  see  on  the  billboards,  the  post  cards,  in 
the  papers,  on  the  walls  of  public  buildings,  and  which  they  hear  from 
the  lips  of  their  playmates,  of  laborers,  and  of  men  and  women  in  the 
streets,  and  with  which  the  very  air  seems  tainted.  And  yet  I  know 
that  this  is  a  very  real  problem  with  the  teachers  before  me. 

Later  Adolescence 

Then  there  is  another  question  which  has  grown  to  mighty  propor¬ 
tions  in  the  minds  of  the  older  young  men  and  women,  and  which  it  is 
our  duty  to  take  up  in  a  discreet,  sensible  way.  That  is  the  question 
of  love,  courtship,  and  marriage.  We  need  not  think  for  a  moment 
that  if  we  carefully  avoid  or  ignore  this  question,  they  will  follow  our 
example.  Since  it  is  a  great  reality  to  them,  and  has  much  to  do  with 
their  salvation  and  future  usefulness,  we  need  to  consider  it  and  talk 
it  over  with  them  kindly  and  wisely.  As  a  rule,  I  believe  they  would 
rather  talk  these  things  over  with  some  one  of  experience,  for  they 
sense  its  seriousness,  but  they  are  too  shrewd  to  take  any  chances  of 
ridicule  or  betrayed  confidence;  and  so  they  go  ahead  and  aften  make 
sad  mistakes,  which  might  have  been  avoided  if  we  had  proved  our 
sympathy  with  them. 

How  many  of  our  dear  young  people  are  spoiling  their  lives  be¬ 
cause  of  ignorance  and  folly  on  this  point!  We  meet  them  at  the  age 
of  fifteen  or  sixteen  talking  of  their  betrothal,  or  perhaps  already 
married.  Had  they  been  rightly  trained,  they  might  have  had  a 
chance  in  life.  A  physician  said  to  a  young  girl  who  was  talking  of 
matrimony:  “You  have  not  yet  got  your  growth.  Your  muscles  are 
soft,  your  bones  are  soft,  and  your  brain  is  soft.  Wait  awhile,  till 
your  mind  becomes  mature  and  your  judgment  developed,  and  you 
will  never  regret  it.” 

Quiet,  heart-to-heart  talks  at  this  time  are  of  inestimable  value. 
Every  encouragement  should  be  given  them  to  talk  freely,  especially 
concerning  their  spiritual  experiences.  It  is  quite  characteristic  of 
this  age,  and  especially  perhaps  in  this  generation,  to  express  great 
disdain  for  any  religious  exercises  which  appeal  to  the  emotions.  This 
may  be  due  to  the  reaction  from  the  emotional  stress  of  early  adoles¬ 
cence.  But  we  must  show  them  the  difference  between  intellectual 
assent,  or  head  religion,  and  the  religion  of  the  heart, —  the  seat  of 
the  emotions. 

Oh,  how  we  need  trained  workers, —  young  men  and  women  who 
appreciate  God’s  estimate  of  these  precious  souls;  men  and  women 
who  will  count  no  effort  too  great,  no  sacrifice  too  dear,  to  become 


376 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


expert  in  this  great  work  which  is  so  simple,  yet  so  difficult,  so  in¬ 
tensely  interesting,  yet  so  taxing  to  the  patience,  but  which  brings  so 
great  reward!  “Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me?”  “Feed  my 
lambs.”  This  is  the  great  Master’s  test  ot  genuine  love  for  himself. 

And  how  the  young  people  love  the  one  who  gives  himself  for 
them  and  to  them,  and  goes  to  them  in  a  straightforward  manner  to 
talk  on  the  greatest  of  all  themes!  A  young  boy  was  standing  before 
the  casket  at  a  funeral  where  he  appeared  to  be  a  stranger.  At  the 
close  of  the  service  the  pastor  touched  him  on  the  shoulder  with  the 
word,  “He  was  a  good  friend,  wasn’t  he?”  “Oh,  yes,  sir,”  replied 
the  boy,  “he  was  the  best  friend  I  had.  He  brought  me  to  Jesus.” 

God  grant  it  may  be  our  highest  ambition  to  have  many  give  this 
testimony  to  our  faithfulness  when  our  work  is  done. 


WORK  YOUNG  PEOPLE  CAN  DO 

M.  E.  ELLIS 

Fundamental  Factors 

Could  we  harness  to  the  work  of  God  even  that  portion  of  the 
energy,  the  strength,  the  talent,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  our  professed 
Christian  young  people,  which  is  now  being  wasted,  there  is  no  one 
present  with  imagination  vivid  enough  to  forecast  what  would  be  the 
full  result  in  blessings  received  and  bestowed,  in  spiritual  life  deep¬ 
ened,  and  in  souls  won  to  Christ.  On  one  side  we  have  all  the  latent 
talent  needed  to  move  the  world ;  on  the  other  side  we  have  the  great 
throng  of  sin-burdened  souls;  between  the  two  we  have  the  chasm  of 
listlessness,  daily  widening  because  of  spiritual  inertia,  and  from 
which  rise  the  obscuring  fogs  of  ignorance  of  the  need,  and  indifference 
as  to  results  of  neglecting  it. 

Among  other  determining  factors,  three  stand  out  with  prominence, 
that,  if  made  the  most  of,  will  relieve  the  situation  and  bring  results. 
They  are:  trained  leadership  for  our  young  people,  team  work  by  soci¬ 
eties,  and  personal  consecration  to  the  work  by  the  individual.  Each 
of  the  three  is  so  dependent  on  the  other  two  for  the  largest  success 
that  to  consider  each  by  itself  is  only  to  get  a  partial  view  of  the 
situation. 

To  get  our  feet  on  solid  rock  in  the  consideration  of  this  question 
as  to  the  work  young  people  can  do,  let  me  quote  three  brief  sentences 
from  the  spirit  of  prophecy  that  will  give  us  at  once  our  need,  our 
privilege,  and  our  prospects. 

“The  greatest  want  of  the  world  is  the  want  of  men, —  men  who 
will  not  be  bought  or  sold;  men  who  in  their  inmost  souls  are  true  and 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


377 


honest;  men  who  do  not  fear  to  call  sin  by  its  right  name;  men  whose 
conscience  is  as  true  to  duty  as  the  needle  to  the  pole;  men  who  will 
stand  for  the  right  though  the  heavens  fall.” — “ Education ,”  page  57. 

That  kind  of  men  and  women  are  scarce  in  the  world,  and  scarce 
in  the  ranks  of  Seventh-day  Adventists.  This  scarcity  constitutes 
the  reason  for  this  being  the  greatest  want  of  the  world. 

The  second  quotation  is:  “To  every  one  who  offers  himself  to  the 
Lord  for  service,  withholding  nothing,  is  given  power  for  the  attain¬ 
ment  of  measureless  results.” — “  Ministry  of  Healing ,”  page  160.  To 
offer  ourselves  in  that  way  is  the  privilege  of  every  Seventh-day  Ad¬ 
ventist  young  man  and  woman. 

The  third  quotation:  “There  is  no  limit  to  the  usefulness  of  the 
one  who,  putting  self  aside,  makes  room  for  the  working  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  upon  his  heart,  and  lives  a  life  wholly  consecrated  to  God.” — 
“  Testimonies  for  the  Church ,  ”  Vol.  VIII,  page  iq.  That  is  the  pros¬ 
pect  before  the  consecrated  worker. 

Let  us  focus  our  attention  for  a  few  minutes  on  specific  branches 
of  work,  considering  the  three  factors  first  mentioned, —  trained 
leadership,  team  work  by  societies,  and  personal  consecration. 

Literature  and  Correspondence 

Literature  and  correspondence  work  opens  up  a  field  for  the  ef¬ 
forts  of  young  people  peculiarly  suited  to  their  temperament  and 
ability,  and  a  good  leader  can  plan  for  and  secure  team  work  in  his 
society  in  this  line  of  activity  to  a  greater  extent  than  in  perhaps 
anything  else.  Under  this  head  comes  work  in  special  campaigns, 
and  also  regular,  systematic,  week-by-week  work  with  our  papers  and 
magazines,  broadcast  seed-sowing,  and  careful  hand-planting  of  the 
seed;  and  if,  back  of  it  all,  is  the  prayerful,  earnest  desire  to  see  souls 
saved  through  the  ministry  of  the  printed  word,  we  can  confidently 
look  to  God  for  his  blessing  on  it  all. 

Special  efforts  with  our  literature  should  be  carefully  planned 
for  and  worked  out  in  detail,  before  being  presented  to  the  society. 
A  clear,  definite  plan  will  secure  the  team  work  of  the  members  with¬ 
out  question.  Here  is  the  advantage  of  having  trained  leaders  and 
officers  in  the  society. 

A  concrete  example  may  be  of  interest.  Last  fall  our  society  at 
College  View  conceived  the  idea  of  placing  an  envelope  containing 
literature  on  the  Eastern  Question  and  war  situation  in  every  house 
in  Lincoln  and  its  suburbs.  This  was  while  the  talk  of  Turkey’s 
entering  the  great  war  was  the  chief  topic  of  discussion  with  every 
one.  We  found  the  approximate  number  of  homes,  wrote  asking  for 
best  terms-  on  the  tracts  needed  for  the  campaign.  When  we  had  our 


378  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


facts  and  figures  together,  we  had  an  enthusiastic  meeting,  and  raised 
the  money  to  pay  for  the  tracts,  and  enlisted  seventy-five  volunteers 
to  distribute  them.  The  following  Sunday  we  met,  assigned  territory 
to  each  one  by  means  of  cards  written  out  beforehand,  and  after  a 
word  of  prayer  the  workers  went  to  their  assignments.  Some  sections 
were  not  covered  that  day,  but  the  work  was  finished  the  next  Sunday. 

The  immediate  results  that  we  could  see  were,  first,  an  increased 
interest  on  the  part  of  our  own  young  people  in  the  society  work; 
second,  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million  pages  of  tracts  were  distributed 
in  7,000  homes  on  those  two  afternoons;  third,  the  ammunition 
used  in  the  effort  was  paid  for  in  cash  when  the  bill  was  presented, 
leaving  no  bad  taste  in  the  mouth  from  a  lingering  account. 

The  results  that  were  not  at  once  'apparent  have  been  cropping 
out  in  various  ways  ever  since.  In  the  packages  were  slips  offering  to 
send  more  literature.  Several  requests  came  in,  and  were  followed  up, 
resulting  in  three-month  subscriptions  to  the  Signs  weekly,  and  corre¬ 
spondence.  One  Lincoln  daily  printed  a  long  editorial  in  regard  to  our 
“flooding  Lincoln  with  literature.”  So  in  various  ways  we  have  rea¬ 
son  to  believe  that  this  work  accomplished  much  good,  and  turned 
people’s  minds  to  sober  subjects. 

Campaigns  of  this  nature  can  be  carried  on  as  occasions  arise, 
by  any  society  or  any  individual,  suiting  the  size  of  the  campaign 
rather  to  the  individuals  carrying  it  forward  than  to  the  greatness  of 
the  need.  But  definite  and  thorough  work,  and  a  careful  counting 
of  the  cost,  and  also  some  way  of  following  up  any  interest  created, 
should  be  component  parts  of  every  such  effort. 

Next  year  will  be  the  greatest  year  for  the  agitation  of  the  tem¬ 
perance  question  that  this  country  has  ever  seen.  We  have  the  best 
temperance  document  ever  issued,  in  the  Youth's  Instructor  Temperance 
Annual ,  and  it  is  none  too  early  now  to  lay  plans  for  a  broadcast  sowing 
of  that  paper  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other.  Many  plans 
will  suggest  themselves  to  the  live  leader.  One  plan  which  met  with 
excellent  success  in  the  Nebraska  Conference  one  year  was  the  securing 
of  lists  of  the  public  school  teachers  by  counties.  Then  the  churches, 
Missionary  Volunteer  Societies,  and  individuals,  as  many  as  could  be 
enlisted  in  the  work,  became  financially  responsible  for  a  certain  county 
or  counties,  and  every  teacher  in  that  county  was  sent  a  copy  of  the 
Temperance  Annual,  with  a  letter  emphasizing  its  purpose.  Between 
4,000  and  6,ooo  papers  were  used  in  this  way,  and  many  warm-hearted 
responses  came  from  the  county  superintendents  in  regard  to  the  work, 
and  their  appreciation  of  our  efforts  in  behalf  of  their  teachers  and 
the  scholars  under  them. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


379 


Conventions,  rallies  of  one  kind  or  another,  and  all  large  gather¬ 
ings  offer  excellent  opportunities  for  the  use  of  literature,  and  indi¬ 
viduals  and  societies,  with  cooperation  from  the  conference,  if  the 
proposition  is  too  large  to  be  handled  alone,  can  give  an  entirely  new 
trend  of  thought  to  hundreds  on  the  vital  questions  of  the  day,  as 
our  literature  is  placed  in  their  hands. 

The  possibilities  of  missionary  correspondence  are  well  known  to 
all  of  us.  There  is  one  branch  of  this  correspondence  work,  however, 
that  I  should  like  to  see  emphasized,  for  I  believe  that  in  it  is  great 
possibility  for  good.  We  have  hundreds  of  isolated  young  people, 
who  just  by  reason  of  their  being  Seventh-day  Adventists,  if  for  no 
other  cause,  are  deprived  of  the  association  with  other  young  people 
of  their  age;  and  if,  through  the  medium  of  the  State  secretary,  earnest, 
zealous  Missionary  Volunteers  could  be  placed  in  touch  with  these 
isolated  ones,  a  friendship  might  ensue,  and  a  bond  of  fellowship  be 
woven,  that  would  be  the  means  of  helping  many  of  our  young  people 
over  dangerous  places,  and  holding  them  in  the  way  of  truth.  I  do 
not  mean  in  any  sense  that  the  State  secretary  should  conduct  a  mat¬ 
rimonial  bureau,  but  that  young  men,  perhaps  in  some  of  our  schools, 
or  in  the  canvassing  field,  or  situated  where  they  see  the  work  advanc¬ 
ing  and  are  a  part  of  it,  be  placed  in  touch  with  young  men  not  so 
highly  favored;  that  young  women  similarly  be  brought  into  contact 
by  correspondence  with  young  women  perhaps  just  on  the  point  of 
deciding  to  go  to  the  world  instead  of  throwing  their  lives  and  talents 
into  the  cause  of  Christ.  I  know  personally  of  scores  in  this  confer¬ 
ence  who,  I  am  sure,  would  appreciate  this  kind  of  missionary  cor¬ 
respondence. 

Christian  Stewardship 

In  regard  to  the  matter  of  stewardship,  the  accomplishments  of 
our  young  people,  while  increasing  yearly,  are  still  far,  far  below 
what  they  should  be,  and  the  amount  spent  for  chocolates,  gum,  and 
ice  cream  is  still  far  beyond  that  which  goes  into  the  Lord’s  treasury. 
This  is  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  the  rapidly  growing  work  in  all 
fields  has  called  so  insistently  for  money  that  we  have  put  forth 
great  efforts  to  get  our  young  people  to  “give,”  instead  of  taking  the 
time  and  thought  to  teach  and  carefully  emphasize  the  principles  of 
Christian  stewardship. 

“By  forcing  the  plant  we  may  gather  the  fruit  the  sooner  and  in 
large  quantities,  but  the  forced  plant  will  never  do  so  well  again. 
What  we  need  to  do  is  to  carefully  cultivate  the  roots,  giving  time  to 
the  process,  so  that  the  plant  shall  be  constantly  and  richly  nourished, 
and  then  the  fruit  will  not  only  be  abundant,  but  there  will  be  a 


380 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


never-failing  supply.  By  pressing  the  question  of  giving,  and  placing 
all  the  emphasis  there,  without  teaching  the  fundamental  principles  of 
Christian  stewardship,  we  force  the  plant.  By  going  back  to  the  prin¬ 
ciples,  and  rooting  and  grounding  the  young  people  in  them,  we  culti¬ 
vate  the  roots  and  secure  permanent  and  adequate  results.” 

On  the  leaders  of  our  Volunteer  Societies  lies  a  heavy  responsi¬ 
bility  in  this  line,  because  in  no  other  way,  perhaps,  can  our  young 
people  render  more  valuable  and  efficient  service,  both  at  home  and 
abroad,  than  by  understanding  and  appreciating  and  living  up  to 
the  principles  of  Christian  stewardship. 

Christian  Help  Work 

A  hint  dropped  by  J.  Hudson  Taylor  in  “A  Retrospect,”  brought 
me  to  realize  in  a  new  way  how  much  might  be  done  in  the  line  of 
Christian  help  work  if  we  were  awake  to  its  possibilities.  He  said 
that  he  and  his  wife  would  frequently  look  over  their  little  stock  of 
worldly  goods  to  see  if  there  was  anything  in  it  that  they  had  ceased 
to  need,  which  would  be  of  benefit  to  some  one  else,  feeling  that  they 
would  not  want  the  Lord  to  come  and  find  them  in  possession  of  a 
lot  of  things  that  might  have  been  used  to  relieve  some  one’s  need. 

There  are  many  places,  especially  in  the  South,  and  in  our  city 
missions,  where  good  reading,  cast-off  garments,  bedding,  and  other 
things  of  that  nature  will  prove  a  great  blessing  and  help  to  the  workers. 
Our  young  people  with  their  strength  and  activity,  can  do  a  large  work 
in  supplying  these  places  with  these  articles.  From  one  call  made  in 
one  of  our  society  meetings  last  winter,  we  received  189  garments, 
and  over  5,000  pages  of  tracts  to  be  sent  to  one  of  the  mission  schools 
in  the  South.  At  the  least  valuation  placed  on  the  clothing  sent, 
we  had  over  $75  worth.  A  cash  collection  of  $4.50  paid  the  freight 
on  the  box,  which  weighed  over  3,000  pounds.  The  letter  of  thanks 
which  we  received  was  ample  pay  for  what  little  trouble  it  took  to  get 
the  things  together. 

Junior  Work 

In  the  Junior  work  is  another  great  opportunity  for  our  Senior 
young  people.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  between  the  place  where 
the  Sabbath  school  loses  its  strongest  grip  on  the  child,  and  the  place 
where  the  young  people’s  society  lays  hold  of  him,  is  a  space  of  several 
years,  the  most  important  character-forming  years  of  his  life,  when 
there  is  practically  no  special  religious  influence  thrown  around  him 
by  our  religious  organization.  If  our  Missionary  Volunteers  would 
step  into  this  breach,  and  each  one  become  the  older  friend  of  one 
child,  if  no  more,  the  problem  of  letting  our  children  and  young  people 
drift  out  into  the  world  would  in  a  very  few  years  be  solved. 


COUNCIL  PEOCEEDINGS 


381 


Personal  Work 

But  the  great  work  for  young  people,  the  work  wherein  is  bound 
up  the  success  of  the  young  people’s  movement,  the  work  which 
to  a  large  extent  includes  all  other  lines,  is  what  we  know  as  personal 
work.  This  is  the  greatest  work,  for  the  whole  is  greater  than  any  of 
its  parts,  and  in  it  is  bound  up  the  success  of  the  young  people’s 
movement,  because  that  is  the  young  people’s  movement,  and  the  call 
to  young  people  to  band  together  for  a  special  line  of  work  still  comes 
to  us  in  the  clear,  simple,  absolutely  plain  words  of  the  spirit  of  proph¬ 
ecy,  which  admit  of  no  double  meaning,  “Will  the  young  men  and 
women  who  really  love  Jesus  organize  themselves  as  workers,  not  only 
for  those  who  profess  to  be  Sabbath  keepers,  but  for  those  not  of  our 
faith?” 

Yet,  getting  results  in  this  line  of  work  is  the  hardest  thing  a  leader 
has  to  grapple  with,  and  the  reason  is  not  far  to  seek.  You  can  conduct 
a  Sabbath  literary  society,  and  exercise  but  little  spirituality;  you 
can  get  people  to  take  part  on  a  program  if  they  have  any  talent  at 
all;  you  can  easily  secure  volunteers  for  any  ordinary  or  extraordinary 
effort  you  wish  to  put  forth  in  the  society.  But  you  cannot  enlist  re¬ 
cruits  and  hold  them  month  in  and  month  out  in  a  real  personal-work 
band  and  see  them  bringing  one  soul  after  another  to  Christ,  unless  they 
really  have  the  spirit  of  Christ  in  their  hearts,  unless  they  “really  love 
Jesus”  in  the  full  meaning  of  those  words,  unless  their  hearts  really 
ache  to  help  those  around  them;  for  real  personal  workers  realize 
that  they  must  be  before  they  can  do;  that  they  themselves  must  be 
what  they  want  others  to  become.  This  class  of  young  people  is 
comparatively  small. 

Nine  years  ago,  on  taking  a  religious  census  of  the  young  people 
of  College  View,  we  were  appalled  to  find  that  less  than  twenty  per 
cent  of  the  children  between  the  ages  of  twelve  and  thirty  years,  of 
Sabbath  keeping  parents,  had  ever  made  a  profession  of  Christianity, 
and  less  than  thirteen  per  cent  were  enjoying  anything  like  a  respect¬ 
able  Christian  experience.  Conditions  there  are  no' better  today;  and 
yet  from  what  experience  I  have  had,  I  do  not  believe  College  View 
is  very  different  from  other  places  in  this  respect.  We  certainly  need 
personal  workers,  and  I  feel  sure  that  if  the  resolution  in  regard  to 
personal-work  bands,  passed  at  the  St.  Helena  convention,  is  empha¬ 
sized  and  carried  out,  it  will  mean  a  great  uplift  to  the  Missionary 
Volunteer  work. 

The  development  of  personal  workers  is  not  as  spectacular  as  some 
other  phases  of  the  young  people’s  movement,  neither  are  the  deep, 
strong  foundations  of  the  skyscraper  as  plainly  visible  as  the  facade 


382 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


and  the  ornamental  flagpole  at  the  top,  but  the  foundations  are  ab¬ 
solutely  essential  to  a  stable  structure.  The  development  of  Chris¬ 
tian  character  is  an  impossibility  without  personal  work,  for  personal 
work  is  Christianity,  and  Christ  came  for  no  other  purpose  than  to 
seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost. 

It  is  not  more  Missionary  Volunteers  that  we  need  so  much  as  a 
better  brand  of  Missionary  Volunteers;  and  the  development  of  the 
personal-work  idea  will  make  the  brand  better,  and  also  increase  the 
efficiency  and  quality  of  every  line  of  work  attempted. 

So  in  closing  I  would  say  that  every  line  of  Christian  effort  makes 
a  bid  for  the  strength,  the  activity,  and  the  talent  of  the  young  people. 
They  can  do  anything,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  to  which  they  set 
their  hand.  In  order  that  our  young  people  may  become  an  irre¬ 
sistible  force,  let  us  keep  our  standards  high,  and  continue  to  set 
higher  and  still  higher  standards  of  Christian  attainment  before  them, 
and  do  our  utmost  to  cause  them  to  realize  that  nothing  short  of  their 
very  best  effort  will  be  acceptable  to  the  King. 


RECOMMENDATIONS  ON  MISSIONARY 
VOLUNTEER  WORK 

Organization 

Whereas,  The  Lord  is  greatly  blessing  the  work  of  the  recently 
organized  Home  Missionary  Department,  in  organizing  for  active 
work  the  adult  membership  of  our  churches,  making  it  necessary 
that  all  should  understand  the  details  of  our  plans  for  operating  the 
home  missionary  work  and  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Society  in 
the  local  church,: — 

1.  We  recommend  the  following  plans  for  the  local  Missionary 
Volunteer  Society:  — 

(a)  No  definite  age  limit  can  be  drawn  between  old  and  young. 
Those  who  are  considered  and  who  count  themselves  as  belonging 
to  the  young  people  may  unite  with  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Society, 
also  persons  who  may  be  no  longer  young,  but  who  are  chosen  to 
lead.  In  general,  we  think  of  twenty-five  to  thirty  as  the  approx¬ 
imate  dividing  line,  but  local  conditions  and  individual  feelings 
should  determine  this  matter. 

(b)  As  there  are  many  advantages  in  having  the  Missionary 
Volunteer  leader  and  secretary  as  the  assistant  leader  and  assistant 
secretary,  respectively,  of  the  home  missionary  society,  consideration 
should  be  given  to  this  in  the  selection  of  these  officers. 

(c)  There  is  a  great  advantage  in  having  young  people  meet  to¬ 
gether  if  they  have  good  leadership,  even  though  the  number  may  be 
small.  Where  it  is  impossible  to  have  a  separate  meeting,  let  old 
and  young  meet  together,  in  which  case  the  young  people  should 
still  have  a  leader,  or  both  leader  and  secretary,  who  shall  report  the 
work  of  the  young  people  to  the  conference  Missionary  Volunteer 
secretary.  In  arranging  for  the  meetings,  the  following  plans  may 
be  used:  (i)  The  program  of  the  combined  meeting  to  be  arranged 
so  as  to  include  some  features  of  the  Missionary  Volunteer  programs. 
(2)  If  the  majority  in  the  combined  society  are  young  people,  the 
society  may  be  a  regular  Missionary  Volunteeer  Society,  and  the 
adult  members  report  to  the  church  missionary  secretary.  (3)  It 
may  be  arranged  for  each  society  to  have  ch  rge  of  the  meeting  on 
alternate  weeks. 

(d)  The  young  people  should  always  be  encouraged  to  remember 
that,  as  church  members,  they  have  a  responsibility  to  help  make 
the  general  church  missionary  meetings  and  the  church  prayer  meet¬ 
ings  a  success. 

2.  Resolved ,  That  a  simple  card  be  provided  by  the  Department 
for  the  transfer  of  members  from  one  society  to  another. 


383 


384  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


Whereas ,  The  Lord  has  greatly  blessed  the  efforts  which  have 
been  put  forth  for  our  Junior  young  people,  and  the  great  importance 
of  this  work  is  more  and  more  apparent,— 

3.  Resolved,  That  we  give  greater  emphasis  to*the  Junior  work, — 

(a)  By  arranging  a  separate  Goal  for  them; 

(b)  By  arranging  for  a  Standard  of  Attainment  adapted  to  the 
capacity  of  the  Juniors;  and, 

(c)  By  providing  a  Junior  leaflet  series  with  matter  giving  in¬ 
struction  to  workers  for  Juniors,  also  matter  of  an  inspirational  char¬ 
acter  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  Juniors. 

4.  Resolved,  That  in  general  we  consider  eight  to  fourteen  the 
Junior  age,  but  that  in  elementary  schools  all  scholars  be  included 
in  the  society,  regardless  of  age,  care  being  taken  not  to  duplicate 
membership  or  reports  when  the  same  persons  attend  both  societies. 

5.  We  recommend,  That  in  conferences  where  the  church  school 
superintendent  and  the  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary  are  not 
the  same  person,  the  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary  and  the  church 
school  superintendent  plan  together  for  the  Junior  work  in  the  church 
schools.  The  society  reports  will  of  course  be  sent  to  the  conference 
Missionary  Volunteer  secretary.  A  duplicate  report  will  be  sent  to 
the  educational  superintendent. 

Whereas ,  We  believe  that  because  of  the  growth  of  the  Missionary 
Volunteer  work,  efficient  work  and  steady  development  demand 
certain  changes  in  the  present  plan  of  organization;  and, — 

Whereas,  Our  union  conferences  now  have  active  Missionary 
Volunteer  secretaries, — 

6.  We  recommend,  (a)  That  while  the  Standard  of  Attainment 
and  Reading  Course  certificates  continue  to  be  provided  by  the 
General  Conference  Missionary  Volunteer  Department  and  signed 
by  the  secretary  of  that  department,  these  certificates  hereafter  be 
issued  by  the  union  conference  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary,  and 
be  sent  to  the  conference  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary  for  his 
signature. 

(b)  That  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Goal  be  apportioned  to  the 
union  conferences  by  the  North  American  Division  Department, 
and  to  the  local  conferences  by  the  union  departments. 

(c)  That  the  union  conference  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary 
be  responsible  to  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Department  of  the  North 
American  Division  for  the  reports  of  the  conferences  in  his  union. 
This  plan  goes  into  effect  January  1,  1916. 

Whereas,  There  is  an  ever-increasing  demand  for  work  in  behalf 
of  our  foreign  young  people  in  America, — 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


385 


7.  We  recommend ,  That  the  Danish-Norwegian  and  the  Swed¬ 
ish  Seminaries  work  in  harmony  with  the  Department  in  fostering 
this  work  among  the  young  people  of  these  nationalities,  especially 
in  the  matter  of  translating  lessons,  programs,  and  Missionary  Volun¬ 
teer  leaflets,  and  arranging  Reading  Courses  in  those  languages. 

Whereas,  The  large  number  of  German  young  people  seems  to 
demand  the  time  of  one  individual  to  labor  under  the  direction  of 
the  Department;  we  respectfully  — 

8.  Recommend,  That  this  matter  be  referred  to  the  North  American 
Division  Conference  Committee  at  the  autumn  council  for  favorable 
action. 

Educational  Features 

_  •  ,  . 

9.  We  recommend,  That  brief,  pointed  matter  be  added  to  our 

leaflet  series  for  the  use  of  local  society  members  in  their  work  for  the 
unconverted,  both  in  and  out  of  our  churches. 

10.  We  recommend,  (a)  That  the  General  Conference  Missionary 
Volunteer  Department,  in  council  with  the  presidents  of  our  colleges, 
prepare  a  special  series  of  society  lessons  for  use  in  the  college  Mission¬ 
ary  Volunteer  Societies. 

(b)  That  these  lessons  be  briefly  outlined  and  printed  in  the 
Gazette  for  the  nine  school  months  of  the  year. 

11.  We  recommend,  (a)  That  a  simple  outline  of  Standard  of  At¬ 
tainment  requirements  for  both  Seniors  and  Juniors  be  prepared 
as  a  number  of  our  leaflet  series;  and, — 

(b)  That  the  Department  take  steps  toward  the  preparation 
of  inexpensive  booklets  on  Bible  Doctrines  and  Denominational 
History  for  the  use  of  our  young  people  in  qualifying  for  the  Standard 
of  Attainment. 

Evangelistic  Efforts 

In  order  that  we  may  accomplish  as  much  as  possible  for  our 
young  people  at  camp  meeting  and  may  avail  ourselves  of  the  benefit 
of  past  experience, — 

12.  We  recommend,  (a)  That  the  conference  committee  leave  the 
Missionary  Volunteer  secretary  free  from  other  responsibilities  on 
the  camp  ground,  allowing  him  to  give  his  whole  time  to  the  interests 
of  the  young  people. 

(b)  That  the  young  people’s  work  on  the  camp  ground  be  left 
in  charge  of  the  conference  Missionary  Volunteer  secretary,  who  may 
associate  with  him  or  her  the  union  conference  secretary  and  other 
suitable  helpers;  and  that  those  who  have  the  responsibility  of  the 
work  remain  through  the  meeting,  and  enter  earnestly  into  the  daily 
services  and  organized  plans  for  prayer  and  personal  work. 

25 


386 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


(c)  That  in  planning  for  lessons  for  the  morning  devotional  meet¬ 
ings,  provision  be  made  for  brief,  practical  talks  that  will  help  in  the 
daily  Christian  life,  and  that  have  some  continuity  of  thought  from 
day  to  day;  and  that  the  afternoon  lessons  be  devoted  generally  to  the 
leading  lines  of  Missionary  Volunteer  and  educational  work. 

(d)  That  a  suitable  place  under  proper  supervision,  be  arranged 
where  our  young  people  rpay  have  access  to  our  Missionary  Volunteer 
literature. 

13.  We  recommend,  That  earnest  efforts  be  made  to  increase 
the  efficiency  of  our  young  people  in  personal  work, — 

(a)  By  placing  the  leaflet,  “Personal  Work,”  in  the  hands  of 
every  active  missionary  volunteer. 

(b)  By  making  the  personal  workers’  band  in  the  local  society, 
school,  and  camp  meeting  of  major  importance,  giving  special  at¬ 
tention  to  the  selection  of  its  leaders  and  members,  and  arranging 
time  for  band  meetings  for  prayer  and  the  study  of  methods. 

(c)  By  the  selection  by  secretaries  of  personal  experiences  which 
may  be  published  by  the  Department  in  some  form  for  general  en¬ 
couragement  and  instruction. 

(d)  By  recommending  a  choice  list  of  books  on  personal  evan¬ 
gelism  for  the  instruction  of  those  who  desire  to  learn  how  to  win 
souls. 

Whereas,  The  spiritual  life  of  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Society 
depends  a  great  deal  upon  the  missionary  activity  of  its  members, — 

14.  We  recommend ,  (a)  That  a  systematic  campaign  be  under¬ 
taken  for  the  extension  of  the  King’s  Pocket  League  plan,  and  to 
increase  the  circulation  of  our  literature  through  the  mails,  reading 
racks,  circulating  libraries,  and  other  means  which  have  proved 
successful. 

(b)  That  we  encourage  more  frequent  observance  of  missionary 
field  days,  in  which  a  church,  the  employees  of  an  institution,  or 
students  of  a  school  shall  go  out  in  a  body  to  circulate  special  issues 
of  our  papers  or  other  missionary  literature. 

Whereas,  The  spiritual  life  of  our  young  people  is  dependent  upon 
their  knowledge  of  God  and  personal  acquaintance  with  him,  and 
the  observance  of  the  Morning  Watch  is  very  effective  in  bringing 
them  spiritual  help, — 

15.  We  recommend,  (a)  That  our  Missionary  Volunteer  workers, 
parents,  and  school  faculties  see  to  it  that  all  our  young  people  are 
provided  with  the  Morning  Watch  calendar. 

(b)  That  our  schools  use  the  calendar  in  their  devotional  services. 

(c)  That  each  conference  worker  be  urged  to  observe  the  Morni  ng 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


387 


Watch,  and  to  use  the  calendar  for  distribution  among  new  converts 
and  others. 

(d)  That  parents  encourage  the  observance  of  the  Morning 
Watch  among  the  children  in  the  home  by  reviewing  the  daily  texts 
in  family  worship. 

Recognizing  the  need  for  a  revival  of  earnest  and  positive  teaching 
on  the  social  purity  question, — 

16.  We  recommend ,  (a)  That  the  Missionary  Volunteer  Depart¬ 
ment  prepare  and  circulate  purity  literature. 

(b)  That  the  Department  of  Education,  through  the  Fireside 
Correspondence  School,  offer  a  brief  course  of  lessons  to  prepare 
parents  and  teachers  for  giving  instruction  on  purity  subjects. 

(c)  That  a  purity  pledge  be  printed  on  a  card  suitable  for  circu¬ 
lation,  and  that  our  secretaries  use  it  in  beginning  a  quiet,  earnest 
campaign  to  inculcate  true  principles  of  social  purity. 

Whereas,  It  seems  important  that  we  give  more  attention  to 
the  need  of  physical  and  mental  recreation  by  our  young  people, 
and  that  we  recognize  the  social  instinct,  which  may,  by  proper 
direction,  bring  increased  efficiency  in  soul-winning, — 

17.  We  recommend,  (a)  That  our  secretaries  and  educational 
workers  make  a  careful  study  of  the  instruction  given  through  the 
spirit  of  prophecy  on  the  subject  of  recreation  and  social  life,  so  that 
we  may  avoid  the  dangers  from  following  worldly  practices. 

(b)  That  we  plan  for  and  encourage  such  social  gatherings  and 
recreation  as  shall  have  a  helpful  purpose  in  view  in  harmony  with 
this  instruction,  and  shall  meet  the  needs  of  our  youth. 

(c)  That  workers  who  conduct  successful  social  gatherings  be 
requested  to  forward  programs  and  suggestions  and  other  information 
to  the  Department,  so  that  they  may  be  passed  on  to  others. 


JOINT  CLOSING  MEETING 


LED  BY  I.  H.  EVANS 

This  is  the  closing  meeting  of  the  Council.  I  am  sure  that  if  we 
could  all  have  time  to  tell  our  feelings,  we  should  say  that  God  has 
been  with  us  in  a  very  definite  way.  As  we  were  closing  the  business 
this  afternoon  under  such  intense  pressure,  I  thought,  Who  is  able  to 
go  back  to  his  field,  and  without  God’s  help,  take  up  all  this  great  work 
and  carry  it  through? 

A  tremendous  task  is  committed  to  our  workers  assembled  here. 
Lord  Kitchener  has  had  a  mighty  task  on  his  hands  in  Great  Britain. 
He  sent  what  men  he  could  spare  from  his  trained  forces  to  the  front, 
and  yet  there  were  calls  for  millions  more.  Then  he  gathered  re¬ 
cruits  from  every  village  and  city  and  hamlet  and  rural  district  in 
Great  Britain,  and  took  upon  himself  the  great  task  of  training  these 
men  speedily,  not  taking  years,  but  only  six  months,  to  get  them  in  a 
fit  condition  to  go  to  the  front  to  take  the  places  of  the  men  who  had 
fallen. 

Lord  Kitchener  did  a  mighty  work  in  the  preparation  of  that  million 
men;  but  I  regard  our  schools  in  this  land,  and  these  men  who  are 
staying  at  home  for  the  training  of  workers,  as  a  very  important  part  • 
of  the  mighty  campaign  that  we  are  waging  throughout  the  world. 
Your  loyalty,  your  faith,  your  visions  imparted  to  the  boys  and  girls 
sent  to  you  for  training,  will  shape  and  mold  their  lives  more  than 
anything  else.  We  must  have,  not  simply  a  few,  but  a  great  and 
mighty  force  of  men  and  women  to  carry  this  work  to  a  successful 
finish.  It  is  only  begun;  it  is  not  yet  finished. 

We  are  living  in  the  most  important  and  interesting  time  in  the 
whole  history  of  this  world,  when  the  last  battles  are  being  fought. 

I  like  to  think  of  being  in  the  work  when  it  is  finished,  when  it  triumphs, 
when  it  is  going  through  the  greatest  strain  and  stress  that  it  has  ever 
experienced. 

You  cannot  all  go  to  the  front,  but  some  of  you  will  go  gladly,  I 
am  sure,  if  that  be  your  place.  And  we  can  all  be  true  to  the  trust 
that  God  has  given  us.  We  can  draft  men  and  qualify  them,  which  is 
indeed  a  very  great  responsibility. 

The  Lord  said  to  Zerubbabel,  “Not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but 
by  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.”  You  will  never  be  able,  my 
friends,  to  do  the  work  committed  to  you  without  the  full  inflow  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  your  lives.  Otherwise,  the  boys  and  girls  that  go 
out  from  you  will  look  upon  matters  in  a  cold,  matter-of-fact  way. 
We  must  today  have  men  of  faith.  Men  who  come  out  of  our  schools 

388 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


389 


must  have  been  trained  under  the  tutorship  of  teachers  of  large  vision 
and  faith,  men  who  can  go  to  the  front  and  take  the  places  of  those  that 
have  fallen,  to  fill  up  the  depleted  ranks,  and  carry  the  standard  to 
the  regions  that  have-  not  yet  been  entered.  Let  us  never  forget 
that  it  is  not  by  resolution,  nor  determination,  nor  planning,  but  by 
having  the  Spirit  of  God  in  our  hearts,  that  we  succeed. 

I  know  every  one  here  wants  to  bear  testimony  tonight.  I  would 
that  every  one  in  this  room  might  speak  freely  of  his  hopes,  his  ex¬ 
pectations,  his  determinations.  You  have  the  confidence,  dear 
friends,  of  all  our  leading  brethren.  I  am  glad  that  I  have  had  the 
privilege  of  attending  this  Council.  I  was  not  sure  that  I  ought  to 
come,  but  it  has  given  me  more  confidence  in  our  school  men  than  I 
have  ever  had  before.  We  see  eye  to  eye.  We  understand  one  an¬ 
other  better.  I  believe  that  you  have  the  right  aim  and  the  right 
purpose. 

For  many  years  I  have  been  very  much  troubled  because  we  could 
not  get  a  well-trained  ministry  from  our  schools.  I  believe,  brethren, 
that  this  condition  is  changing.  I  want  you  to  go  back  to  your 
respective  fields  with  the  fullest  conviction  that  your  brethren  have 
confidence  in  you.  We  are  praying  for  you;  you  have  our  sympathy, 
and  you  will  have  our  cooperation.  I  hope  that  with  this  larger  vision, 
and  this  new  resolve  that  we  have  all  made  here,  to  bring  the  strongest 
influences  that  we  can  to  bear  upon  the  lives  and  hearts  of  our  young 
people,  there  will  be  a  greatly  increased  number  from  our  schools 
fitted  to  enter  the  Lord’s  work. 

I  want  to  assure  you  that  you  have  the  prayers  of  our  people 
everywhere,  that  the  great  work  which  you  have  presented  here  may 
be  blessed  of  God,  and  that  you  may  be  Spirit-filled  men,  ready 
and  prepared  to  do  the  work  that  God  has  committed  to  you. 

F.  Griggs:  I  am  very  thankful,  as  we  come  to  this  closing  hour, 
for  the  manifest  presence  of  God  that  has  been  with  us  during  our 
Council.  We  have  felt  it  from  the  very  first  moment.  The  spirit 
of  unity,  the  spirit  of  cooperation,  seemed  to  be  manifested  in  every¬ 
thing  that  has  been  said.  Our  hearts  are  certainly  united  in  the  desire 
for  a  better  fitting  up  for,  and  appreciation  of,  the  work  that  God  has 
for  us  to  do  in  this  closing  time. 

I  am  thankful  for  the  earnest  spirit  of  my  associates, —  Professor 
Kern,  Professor  Howell,  Professor  Benson,  Elder  MacGuire.  It  has 
been  a  very  delightful  association  to  me. 

We  know  it  was  just  as  the  children  of  Israel  were  going  into  the 
land  of  Canaan  that  the  Lord  sent  them  this  message:  “Be  strong 
and  of  a  good  courage.”  “Have  not  I  commanded  thee?”  he  again 


390 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


said,  ‘‘have  not  I  commanded  thee?  Be  strong  and  of  a  good  courage.” 
Let  me  commend  to  you  the  first  nine  verses  of  the  book  of  Joshua. 

There  is  no  question  about  the  position  which  the  Missionary 
Volunteer  and  Educational  Departments  occupy  in  this  great  cause. 
I  think  we  appreciate  it,  in  a  degree,  at  least.  And  now,  as  leaders, 
we  must  have  this  courage  and  this  consecration,  if  we  would  have  the 
efficiency  necessary  to  do  our  work. 

Again  I  want  to  express  my  sincere  gratitude  for  all  God’s  mercies 
to  us  during  this  Convention,  and  my  hope  and  courage  for  the  future. 

W.  E.  Howell:  The  work  of  the  Council  has  been  one  of  the 
greatest  object  lessons  of  my  life.  I  feel  that  I  have  learned  better 
than  I  ever  knew  before,  the  lesson  of  how  to  lay  my  burdens  at  the 
feet  of  Jesus,  and  at  the  same  time  work  strenuously  for  the  success 
of  his  work. 

Knowing,  as  I  did,  that  there  were  some  conflicts  of  views,  I  felt 
some  anxiety  about  the  Council.  Now  I  rejoice  that  I  have  learned 
personally  how  to  lay  some  of  these  things  in  the  hands  of  Jesus; 
and  I  have  learned  a  degree  of  confidence  and  real  Christian  love 
for  my  fellow  associates  that  I  have  never  before  gained.  To  me  it 
means  similar  success  in  the  series  of  conventions  that  are  to  follow, 
and  in  the  general  uplift  of  our  work  all  the  way  along.  I  thank 
God  for  the  lesson. 

Meade  MacGuire:  I  can  say,  with  Professor  Howell,  that 
at  the  beginning  of  this  Council  there  came  to  me  a  new  vision  of  an 
intimacy  with  Jesus  that  I  had  long  desired  and  had  not  obtained. 
It  seems  to  me  that  I  have  learned  through  the  week,  from  the  happi¬ 
ness  or  joy  of  personal  contact  with  these  earnest  workers,  that  there 
should  come  into  our  lives  day  by  day  and  moment  by  moment  a 
still  more  intense  joy  from  personal  contact  with  Jesus.  Why  should 
we  find  strength  and  courage  and  uplift  in  personal  contact  with  one 
another,  and  not  find  a  much  more  intense  and  mighty  and  delightful 
power  in  personal  contact  with  Jesus?  It  has  seemed  to  me  so  many 
times  this  week  that  Jesus  has  actually  placed  his  arm  through  mine, 
and  we  have  walked  together  and  talked  together.  I  feel  that  I  can 
go  out  from  this  Council  with  new  power  to  help  win  souls  to  Christ. 

J.  L.  Shaw:  It  was  with  considerable  reluctance,  at  the  last 
General  Conference,  that  I  gave  up  the  idea,  for  a  time,  of  going  back 
to  the  mission  field,  and  turned  into  the  educational  line  of  work, 
after  being  out  of  this  work  for  so  many  years;  but  I  am  thankful  for 
the  experience  which  I  have  had  in  connection  with  those  who  are  in 
the  educational  work,  and  I  want  to  say,  with  others  here,  that  my 
vision  of  this  work  has  been  enlarged. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


391 


I  believe  that  this  educational  work  is  the  home  end  of  the  foreign 
mission  work.  Here  we  are  preparing  the  recruits  for  the  regions 
beyond.  I  am  glad  for  the  fellowship,  for  the  association,  for  the 
meetings  which  we  have  had  here  together;  and  I  want  to  pledge, 
with  you,  my  desire  to  go  forward  and  carry  out  the  work  which  we 
have  laid  out  here,  in  that  way  which  will  be  acceptable  to  God. 

E.  C.  Kellogg:  I  appreciate  more  than  I  can  tell  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  associating  with  these  many  workers  from  all  over  our  coun¬ 
try.  I  am  sure  that  the  plans  that  have  been  laid  are  those  that  will 
mean  the  advancement  of  the  work.  Above  all,  I  believe  the  good 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  has  been  with  us,  and  the  very  strong  and  manifest 
spirit  of  unity  which  we  have  all  recognized,  will  mean  very  much 
for  the  advancement  of  God’s  work.  As  we  go  home,  we  must  have 
the  encouragement  that  comes  from  this  spirit  of  unity. 

C.  L.  Benson:  I  have  a  new  conception,  personally,  of  the  last 
prayer  that  Jesus  made  when  he  prayed  that  his  disciples  might  be 
one.  We  came  here  with  many  perplexities,  each  with  his  local  situa¬ 
tion  strongly  in  the  foreground;  and  yet,  as  we  consider  these  great 
denominational  problems,  how  quickly  our  own  local  views  vanish ! 

I  have  a  new  conception  of  the  text  that  says  one  should  chase  a 
thousand,  and  two  should  put  ten  thousand  to  flight.  I  believe  that 
we  are  going  to  chase  the  ten  thousand,  to  press  closer  together.  I, 
with  you,  consecrate  my  life  to  the  finishing  of  God’s  work. 

M.  E.  Kern:  This  Council  has  been  a  great  uplift  to  me;  and 
I  am  sure  it  has  been,  and  will  be,  for  many  days  to  come,  to  the 
Missionary  Volunteer  work. 

I  share  in  the  feeling  that  has  been  expressed,  —  that  of  great 
appreciation  of  the  harmony  and  love  and  fellowship  which  we  have 
enjoyed  here  together.  While  the  burden  of  the  great  army  of  young 
people  that  seemed  to  be  unreached,  so  many  of  them,  sometimes 
weighs  so  heavily  upon  my  heart,  I  shall  feel  hereafter,  more  than  I 
have  ever  felt  before,  that  there  is  a  great  body  of  earnest  men  and 
women  who  are  bearing  this  burden  with  me.  I  believe  that  our 
work  for  the  young  people  in  the  churches,  the  boys  and  girls  who 
are  surrounded  by  the  influences  of  the  world,  is  going  to  receive 
your  prayers  and  your  help  as  never  before. 

I  also  earnestly  request  that  you  who  are  leaving  this  place  at  this 
time  should  earnestly  pray  that  the  spirit  and  uplift  of  this  Council 
may  be  carried  to  the  six  conventions  which  are  to  follow,  that  we 
who  have  this  burden  especially  upon  our  hearts  may  be  channels 
through  which  God  can  give  his  blessings  to  these  large  groups  of 
our  young  people’s  and  educational  workers  in  these  different  centers. 


392  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


The  message  that  comes  to  my  heart  tonight  is  this:  “Saith  the 
Lord,  Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his  wisdom.”  There  are  not 
many  of  us  very  wise;  but  even  if  we  were,  there  would  be  no  reasofi 
for  us  to  glory  in  our  own  wisdom,  p.  b  ■  . : : 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  great  desire  of  my  heart  tonight  is  to 
understand  and  to  know  God,  to  know  him  and  to  represent  him  so 
well  that  those  who  know  me  but  do  not  know  him  may  wish  to  know 
him  because  they  know  me. 

C.  W.  Irwin:  There  are  two  features  of  this  Council  which 
stand  out  prominently  in  my  mind  tonight.  The  first  one  that  I 
shall  mention  is  what  I  shall  call  a  closer  cementing  together  of  these 
two  important  departments.  I  think  that  perhaps  we,  as  educators, 
have  not  appreciated  the  work  that  the  Missionary  Volunteer  De¬ 
partment  is  doing.  I  know  that  I  have  not  appreciated  it  before, 
and  I  am  very  glad  that  I  have  had  this  opportunity  of  associating 
with  these  brethren  who  have  been  leading  out  in  this  work.  I  feel 
that  they  are,  indeed,  doing  a  very  important  work,  and  one  in  which 
we  who  have  been  especially  connected  with  the  educational  work 
should  be  interested.  I  believe  their  problems  are  our  problems, 
and  their  success  our  success,  and  that  hereafter  we  should  work  very 
closely  together. 

Another  thing  that  has  been  a  source  of  pleasure  to  me  is  the 
fact  that  all,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  have  had  a  real  determination  to 
follow  the  light  that  God  has  given  us.  I  do  not  know  when  I  have 
heard  the  Testimonies  referred  to  so  often.  I  believe  that  this  is  a 
good  omen.  I  know  that  in  my  own  case,  in  so  far  as  I  have  followed 
the  light  that  God  has  given  us,  to  that  extent  have  I  had  success; 
and  when  I  have  neglected  that  light,  there  has  come  failure.  I 
believe  that  our  success  lies  in  following  the  light  that  God  has  given 
us,  and  in  walking  in  the  ways  of  his  guidance. 

O.  J.  Graf:  This  Council  has  brought  great  joy,  inspiration, 
and  courage  to  my  heart.  My  confidence  in  my  brethren  and  my 
love  for  them  have  been  greatly  increased.  My  confidence  that  God 
is  leading  in  this  work  has  also  been  greatly  increased.  I  believe 
that  we  can  all  agree  that  first  things  have  been  placed  first  in  this 
Convention.  I  expect  to  go  home  and  live  closer  to  my  students, 
and  work  more  for  them  in  a  personal  way,  that  I,  in  my  school  work, 
may  be  a  personal  evangelist. 

B.  F.  Machlan:  It  has  indeed  been  a  great  pleasure  to  pass  the 
last  week  here.  I  am  sure  I  needed  what  I  have  received  here,  and 
am  glad  to  know  that  the  Lord  gives  us  only  one  burden  at  a  time. 
Now  that  the  burden  of  the  Council  is  rolling  off,  there  comes  the 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS  393 

burden  of  the  work  of  vacation ;  but  I  can  go  back  to  it  with  renewed 
courage,  with  a  new  vision,  and  with  a  greater  determination  to  live 
and  work  for  God,  and  with  a  greater  love  for  the  boys  and  girls  than 
I  have  ever  had.  I  thought  I  loved  them  truly,  and  I  thought 
I  knew  what  they  needed;  but  I  have  received  a  new  vision  here 
during  this  Council. 

Not  the  least  of  my  pleasure  here  has  been  that  of  association 
with  my  brethren.  I  remember  that  scripture,  “We  know  we  have 
passed  from  death  unto  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren.’’  I  do 
love  my  brethren. 

M.  E.  Cady:  I  certainly  feel  that  as  a  result  of  this  council  a 
great  work  has  been  accomplished  in  a  short  time.  I  have  been  im¬ 
pressed  that  we  have  not  very  many  years  left  in  which  to  finish  this 
work.  When  I  think  of  this  company  here,  who  have  large  responsi¬ 
bilities,  and  then  think  of  the  six  conventions  that  are  to  follow,  when 
all  our  educators  and  many  of  our  young  people  will  be  together,  it 
seems  to  me  that  a  mighty  change  will  certainly  come  over  the  work 
in  this  North  American  Division. 

As  I  think  of  what  has  been  said  here,  the  good  instruction  we 
have  had,  the  plans  that  have  been  laid,  it  seems  to  me  it  has  all 
been  to  this  one  end,  that  we  might  go  to  our  respective  fields  and 
work  as  never  before  for  the  finishing  of  this  work.  I  realize,  as 
was  read  tonight,  that  it  is  not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  that  this  work  is  to  be  accomplished.  I  want  to  be 
found  at  the  feet  of  the  Master  teacher,  and  have  him  teach  me  day 
by  day  how  to  do  the  work  he  has  assigned  to  me. 

C.  J.  Boyd:  To  all  of  us  the  work  of  this  Convention  has  been 
highly  educational.  Some  of  us  have  increased  our  knowledge  of 
geography  in  a  practical  way  by  coming  here;  but  best  of  all,  God 
has  been  with  us.  I  have  ijew  courage  tonight.  I  have  made  up 
my  mind  to  live  nearer  my  boys  and  girls.  I  want  to  live  nearer 
to  my  work,  and  tonight  I  surrender  my  talents,  weak  as  they  are, 
to  be  used  in  this  great  work. 

H.  G.  Lucas:  I  feel  that  the  Lord  has  been  with  us  in  this  Con¬ 
vention;  and  as  I  look  forward  to  my  next  year’s  work,  I  am  deter¬ 
mined  to  put  forth  greater  efforts  to  have  success  in  my  work. 

H.  A.  Washburn:  I  feel  deep  gratitude  tonight  that  the  Lord 
has  answered  our  prayers  in  the  last  ten  days.  I  have  prayed  very 
earnestly,  especially  before  the  Council  and  in  the  early  days  of  the 
Council,  that  we  all  might  hear  his  voice.  As  I  look  back  over  these 
days,  I  can  see  very  definitely  where  the  Lord  has  spoken  to  me  in 
avrious  ways. 


394  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


I  rejoice  tonight  that  we  are  engaged  in  such  a  work,  that  we 
can  look  back  and  see  that  God  has  spoken  to  us  through  our  own 
brethren,  human  beings  that  he  is  using;  yet  it  is  a  clear  voice  that 
points  the  way,  and  the  future  looks  very,  very  bright 

O.  R.  Cooper:  I  am  thankful  for  the  opportunities  that  I  have 
enjoyed  during  this  Convention.  It  is  my  desire  that  the  inspiration 
that  I  have  received  here  may  continue  with  me. 

Brother  Rockwell:  I  rejoice  in  the  inspiration  that  I  have 
received  here,  and  it  is  my  determiriation  that  my  life  shall  be  con¬ 
secrated  to  service  in  the  cause  of  God. 

C.  A.  Russell:  These  have  surely  been  strenuous  days;  but 
they  have  been  days  full  of  joy  and  happiness  and  peace.  I  am  so 
thankful  for  the  privilege  of  being  here  and  sharing  this  work  with 
these  dear  brethren  and  sisters.  I,  too,  love  the  brethren.  My  con¬ 
fidence  in  the  message  and  in  those  who  are  sustaining  this  work 
has  been  greatly  increased,  and  I  think,  as  so  many  have  said,  of 
the  joy  of  working  together  as  fellow  laborers;  but  oh,  what  will  it 
be  by  and  by  when  we  are  so  happy  as  to  go  through  the  gates  of  the 
Holy  City,  and  have  no  more  separation! 

My  determination  is  to  go  back  to  my  field  of  labor  and  put  forth 
a  very  earnest  effort  to  get  just  as  many  as  possible  of  our  dear  loyal 
young  people  to  come  to  the  Convention  at  Berrien  Springs,  that 
they  may  enjoy  the  inspiration  that  has  been  ours. 

I  think  now  of  the  keynote  that  was  sounded  at  the  very  begin¬ 
ning  of  this  meeting,  “Consecration  and  Efficiency,”  and  I  do  recon¬ 
secrate  and  rededicate  myself  to  God  tonight. 

C.  C.  Lewis:  The  dear  friends  and  fellow  teachers  whom  I  have 
met  so  many  times  in  conventions  like  this,  never  seemed  so  dear,  so 
precious  to  me,  as  they  have  at  this  time.  I  have  been  greatly  com¬ 
forted  and  encouraged  by  these  associations  here  together.  It  seems 
as  though  the  Lord  has  been  very  near  to  us  all.  I  return  to  my  work 
with  my  heart  full  of  joy  and  courage,  trusting  in  the  Lord. 

J.  H.  Paap:  I  believe  that  the  Spirit  of  God  has  been  in  the  plans 
that  have  been  laid  here  at  this  Council  for  the  advancement  of  the 
work  in  our  educational  and  Missionary  Volunteer  lines.  I  can  see 
hope  for  the  advancement  of  our  work.  As  I  go  back  to  my  field, 
it  will  be  with  a  determination  to  do  more  for  the  patrons  of  the  school 
in  the  way  of  cooperation  for  the  training  and  salvation  of  their 
young  people. 

A.  W.  Russell:  I  am  glad  I  am  here.  It  has  given  me  in¬ 
creased  confidence  in  this  message. 


COUNCIL  PROCEEDINGS 


395 


J.  W.  Rich:  I  am  glad  tonight  that  1  have  had  the  privilege 
of  being  a  spectator  during  this  Council.  I,  with  the  rest  of  you, 
have  received  a  new  vision.  With  this  new  awakening  there  comes 
a  new  sense  of  responsibility.  I  ask  an  interest  in  your  prayers, 
that  I  may  not  disappoint  my  Creator. 

G.  M.  Price:  I  have  been  looking  backward  about  two  thousand 
years;  and  I  trust  that  it  is  not  with  any  spirit  of  irreverence  that 
I  would  make  a  comparison  between  this  meeting  here  and  that  little 
meeting  that  meant  so  much  for  the  infant  Christian  church.  That 
outpouring  of  the  Spirit  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  was  for  an  emer¬ 
gency  work;  it  was  adapted  to  the  circumstances  and  the  times; 
it  started  from  one  small  center,  and  the  inspiration  of  that  out¬ 
pouring  of  God’s  Spirit  spread  out  over  all  the  earth.  Today,  when 
God  is  undertaking  to  do  a  similar  work,  the  preparation  that  he 
gives  his  workers  must  be  adapted  to  the  times  and  circumstances 
of  the  occasion.  And  so,  while  the  circumstances  are  somewhat 
different  from  those  back  there,  I  believe  that  God  has  his  hand  on 
his  work  at  the  present  time,  and  that  he  is  fitting  up  his  people  to 
share  in  the  last  work  that  is  to  go  forth  with  mighty  power  through¬ 
out  the  whole  world. 

I  want  ever  to  bear  in  mind  the  inspiration  that  has  come  to 
me  from  the  associations  of  this  Convention.  I  want  to  receive 
from  this  meeting  new  power  to  be  true  and  steadfast  in  the  work  to 
which  God  has  called  me,  and  to  go  forward  with  you  in  this  work 
and  see  it  carried  to  a  triumphant  conclusion. 

M.  P.  Robison:  I  wish  to  express  my  gratitude  for  having  this 
blessed  privilege.  It  has  given  me  new  ideals,  and  new  courage  to 
press  on  with  my  work.  I  have  been  especially  impressed  with  the 
fact  that  we  as  teachers  and  workers  in  our  schools  are  realizing  the 
demand  for  our  product.  The  missionary  phase  that  has  been  em¬ 
phasized  in  this  meeting  has  given  me  a  new  zeal. 

C.  B.  Hughes:  I  am  very  glad  for  the  privilege  I  have  had  of 
attending  this  Convention.  These  are  momentous  days.  God  is 
calling  upon  his  people,  and  especially  the  young  people,  to  follow  him. 
I  am  very  glad  for  the  plans  that  have  been  laid,  both  for  the  educa¬ 
tional  work  and  the  young  people’s  work,  and  I  want  so  to  relate 
myself  to  both  Departments  that  God  may  accomplish  the  work  which 
he  wishes  to  do  through  me. 

G.  W.  Rine:  While  I  personally  have  not  been  able  to  be  present 
at  very  many  of  the  meetings  of  the  Council,  I  want  to  assure  you 
that  my  heart  and  my  sympathies  were  with  you.  I  know  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  has  been  here,  from  what  you  have  said  and  what  I  have 


396  EDUCATIONAL  AND  MISSIONARY  VOLUNTEER 


observed.  I  want  to  assure  you  tonight  that  the  Holy  Spirit  has 
striven  with  me,  and  I  think  I  have  given  myself  to  him  as  I  never 
did  before. 

Matilda  Erickson:  My  heart  is  full  of  gratitude  for  the  privi¬ 
lege  of  attending  this  convention.  I  feel  so  happy  to  think  of  the 
better  acquaintance  and  the  stronger  friendship  that  exists  between 
the  two  Departments.  I  am  glad  for  the  privilege  of  meeting  with 
these  friends  again,  and  that  I  can  take  the  influence  and  inspiration 
of  this  Convention  back  with  me.  With  you,  I  want  to  reconsecrate 
my  life  for  full  and  complete  service  for  the  Master. 

Jennie  Bates:  The  thought  has  come  to  me  that  I  can  best 
show  my  appreciation  of  all  the  blessings  which  the  Lord  has  given 
to  me  during  this  time,  by  hastening  back  to  my  field  of  labor  and 
doing  better  work  than  ever  before.  I  do  thank  the  Lord  for  these 
precious  privileges,  and  I  rededicate  my  life  to  him  for  this  work  in 
all  the  days  that  shall  come. 

L.  B.  Ragsdale:  I  am  thankful  for  this  privilege  of  meeting 
those  of  the  brethren  whom  I  had  never  met  before.  I  have  a  broader 
vision  of  what  the  Lord  expects  of  me. 

I.  H.  Evans:  This  is  our  closing  meeting,  and  it  will  be  long  re¬ 
membered  by  all  who  are  here.  I  am  sure  that  this  will  be  a  bright 
spot  in  the  lives  of  those  who  have  been  privileged  to  attend.  I 
hope  that  the  request  made  by  one  of  the  brethren  —  that  we  pray 
for  these  brethren  who  are  to  hold  these  conventions  —  may  be  in 
our  memory  continually.  They  have  a  hard  task  before  them,  with¬ 
out  much  rest.  They  will  have  six  conventions  to  go  through,  run¬ 
ning  into  the  middle  of  August,  and  they  will  perhaps  have  a  larger 
attendance  of  delegates  than  we  have  had  here.  The  responsibilities 
are  heavy,  the  weather  will  be  hot,  and  of  course  they  must  work 
very  intensely.  I  do  hope  you  will  pray  for  these  brethren ;  remember 
them  daily  at  the  throne  of  grace,  and  pray  that  the  wisdom  of  God 
may  be  given  to  them,  and  that  they  may  speak  with  the  anointing 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  them,  because  we  do  desire  that  they  shall 
accomplish  a  great  work  in  these  conventions  that  are  to  follow. 


INDEX 


Academic  Course  .  245 

Standards  . 237-240 

Academies,  Recommendations  .  . 

.  203,  204 

Semester  Plan  .  245 

Accepted  Credits,  Teachers’  Cer¬ 
tificates  .  232 

Accredited  Schools  . 206,  207 

Adolescent  Life  and  Methods  of 
Winning  Young  People,  by  C. 

L.  Benson  .  262 

Andekson,  J.  N. 

Report  of  Committee  on  Li¬ 
brary  .  226 

Andkeasen,  M.  L. 

The  Place  of  Our  American 
Foreign  Seminaries  in  Our 

Educational  System  .  165 

Attendance  in  Our  Schools,  How 
Shall  We  Increase  the,  by  W. 

W.  Ruble  .  49 

Auxiliary  Organizations,  Report 
of  Committee  on,  M.  E.  Kern, 
Chairman  .  223 


Benson,  C.  L. 

Characteristics  of  Adolescent 
Life  and  Methods  of  Win¬ 
ning  Young  People .  262 

Missionary  Volunteer  Work  in 
Our  Colleges  and  Academies  299 
Blanks.  Report  of  Committee  on, 

W.  W.  Ruble,  Chairman,  ..224-226 


Business  Combined  with  Short¬ 
hand  Course  .  248 

Business  Course  .  249 

Business  Efficiency,  Principles 
of,  and  the  Proper  Financing 
of  Our  Schools,  by  H.  A.  Mor¬ 
rison  .  64 


Cady  M.  E. 

The  Next  Step  in  Textbook 

Making  .  115 

Camp  Meeting  Work,  by  Meade 

MacGuire  .  276 

Certificates,  Teachers’  . 229-232 

Certification,  Report  of  Commit¬ 
tee  on,  IT.  G.  Lucas,  Chair¬ 
man  . 229-232 

Circulation  of  the  Morning 
Watch  Calendar,  by  Matilda 

Erickson  .  332 

Closing  Meeting,  Joint  .  388 

College  and  Its  Affiliated  Acade¬ 
mies,  Working  Relations  Be¬ 
tween  the,  by  O.  J.  Graf  ....  56 

College  Course  .  246 

College  Standards,  Supplemen¬ 
tary  Report .  240 

Colleges  and  Academies,  Mission¬ 
ary  YTolunteer  WTork  in  Our,  by 

C.  L.  Benson .  299 

Colleges,  Recommendations  ....  204 


Committee  Reports  . 216-249 

Condolences  . 201 

Constituency,  The  Relation  of 
Our  Schools  to  Their,  by  B.  G. 

Wilkinson  .  42 

Courses  of  Study. 

Academic  .  245 

Business  .  249 

College  .  246 

Combined  Business  and  Short¬ 
hand  .  248 

Elementary  .  242 

Ministerial  College .  247 

Normal  .  247 

Shorthand  . .  248 

Courses,  Report  of  Committee  on, 

J.  L.  Shaw,  Chairman  ....  240-249 
Credit  for  Home  Work,  Report  of 
Committee  on,  M.  P.  Robi¬ 
son,  Chairman  .  224 

Credits  .  205 

206,  207,  211,  224,  237,  246,  248 

Cultural  Education  in  School 

Homes,  by  E.  C.  Kellogg  ....  176 


Daniells,  A.  G. 

Our  Schools  Hold  the  Key  ...  83 

Davis,  B.  B. 

How  Can  We  Strengthen  Our 

Normal  Work  .  134 

Division  Department  of  Educa¬ 
tion,  Recommendations  .  .  206,  207 
Dress  of  Girls,  Uniform  .  .  .  .203,  204 

Educating  Our  Boys  and  Girls, 

The  High  Calling  of,  by  W.  E. 

Howell  .  93 

Education,  Manumental,  by  C.  C. 

Lewis  .  Ill 

Education,  Sex,  by  C.  C.  Lewis  .  179 
Educational  Features  of  the  Mis¬ 
sionary  Volunteer  Work,  How* 
Shall  We  Promote  the,  by  N. 

W.  Lawrence  .  285 

Educational  Movement,  An  ....  208 

Educational  Organization,  How 
to  Make  It  More  Effective  in 

the  Field,  by  F.  Griggs .  153 

Educational  Problems  and  Poli¬ 
cies.  by  F.  Griggs  .  .  .  . .  9 

Educational  Recommendations.  . 

. 201-215 

Efficient  Missionary  Volunteer 
Secretaries,  How  to  Secure,  by 

Meade  MacGuire  . .  315 

Elementary  Schools,  Name  ....  202 

Elementary  Schools,  Financial 

Policy  . .  203 

Elementary  Schools,  Recommen¬ 
dations  . 202-204 

Elementary  Standards,  Report  of 
Committee  on,  C.  A.  Russell. 

Chairman  . 235-237 

Ellis,  M.  E. 

Work  Young  People  Can  Do  .  376 

397 


398 


INDEX 


Enrollment,  Increase  of .  209 

Erickson,  Matilda. 

Circulation  of  the  Morning 

Watch  Calendar  .  332 

Possibilities  of  the  Morning 
Watch  .  326 


Evangelistic  Efforts  of  the  Mis¬ 
sionary  Volunteer  Society  .  . .  385 
Evans,  I.  H. 

The  Call  to  Teaching .  22 

Extending  the  Influence  of  Our 

Schools  .  192 

The  Personal  Touch  in  Teach¬ 
ing  .  169 

The  Purpose  in  Teaching  ....  103 
The  Responsibility  of  Our 
Schools  in  Relation  to  Mis¬ 
sionary  Advance  .  28 

The  Sacredness  of  Teaching  .  75 

Spiritual  Life  of  the  Teacher  155 

Examinations,  Final  . 206,  207 

Examinations,  Teachers’  .  207 


Financial  Measures,  Recommen¬ 
dations  . 212.213 

Financial  Policy,  Elementary 

Schools  .  203 

Financing  of  Our  Schools,  the 
Proper,  and  Principles  of  Busi¬ 
ness  Efficiency,  by  H.  A.  Mor¬ 
rison  .  64 

Fireside  Correspondence  School  205 
First  Grade  Teachers’  Certificate  230 
Foreign  Seminaries,  Our  Amer¬ 
ican,  The  Place  of,  in  Our 
Educational  System,  by  M.  L. 

Andreasen  .  165 

Foreign  Missionary  Volunteer 
Work  in  America,  by  J.  .T. 

Reiswig  . * .  346 

Foreign  Seminaries  . 165.204 

Foreword  .  3 

Francis,  Esther. 

The  Local  Junior  Missionary 
Volunteer  Society . '.  339 


Garrett,  Almetta. 

Magnifying  the  Office  of  Su¬ 
perintendent  .  98 

Graduation,  a  Goal  .  211 

Graduation,  Standards  of  Classi¬ 
fication  and,  by  M.  E.  Olsen  .  .  127 


Graduation,  Units  Required  for  245 
Graf,  O.  J. 

The  Working  Relations  Be¬ 
tween  the  College  and  Its 

Affiliated  Academies  .  56 

Greetings  .  201 

Griggs,  F. 

Educational  Problems  and  Pol¬ 
icies  .  9 

How  to  Make  Our  Educational 
Organization  More  Effective 

in  the  Field  .  153 

Report  of  Committee  on  Text¬ 
books  .  217 

The  Question  of  Teacher  Effi¬ 
ciency  .  .34 

Grouping  Plan  .  246 


IIale,  Katherine  B. 

Characteristics  of  Juniors,  and 

How  to  Win  Them  .  268 

High  Calling  of  Educating  Our 
Boys  and  Girls,  The,  by  W.  E. 

Howell  .  93 

Home  Work,  School  Credit  for, 

Report  of  Committee .  224 

Howell,  W.  E. 

How  to  Develop  Efficient  Su¬ 
perintendents  .  149 

The  High  Calling  of  Educating 

Our  Boys  and  Girls  .  93 

Report  of  Committees  on 
Standards  . 233-240 


Influence  of  Our  Schools,  Ex¬ 
tending  the,  by  I.  H.  Evans  .  .  192 

Johns,  Varner. 

The  Organization  of  the  Senior 

Society  .  337 

Junior  Missionary  Volunteer  So¬ 
ciety,  The  Local,  bv  Esther 

Francis  .  339 

Juniors,  Characteristics  of.  and 
How  to  Win  Them,  by  Kather¬ 
ine  B.  Hale .  268 

Kellogg,  E.  C. 

Cultural  Education  in  School 

Homes  .  176 

Kern,  M.  E. 

Development  and  Direction  of 

Social  Instincts  .  355 

How  to  Make  the  Missionary 
Volunteer  Organization  More 

Effective  in  the  Field .  319 

Progress  and  Problems  of  the 
Missionary  Volunteer  Move¬ 
ment  .  251 

Report  of  Committee  on  Aux¬ 
iliary  Organizations  .  223 

Library,  Report  of  Committee 
on,  J.  N.  Anderson,  Chair¬ 
man  . 226-228 

Life  Certificates  . 231,232 

Liquor  Traffic  .  202 

Local  Society,  Organization  and 
Work  of,  by  C.  A.  Russell  .  . .  333 
Lawrence,  N.  W. 

How  Shall  We  Promote  the 


Educational  Features  of  the 
Missionary  Volunteer  Work  285 
Lewis,  C.  C. 

Manumental  Education .  Ill 

Sex  Education  .  179 

Loma  Linda  College  of  Medical 

Evangelists  .  205 

Lucas,  H.  G. 

Report  of  Committee  on  Certi¬ 
fication  .  229 

MacGuire,  Meade. 

Camp  Meeting  WTork  .  276 

How  to  Secure  Efficient  Mis¬ 
sionary  Volunteer  Secreta¬ 
ries  .  315 

The  Nature  of  Young  People 
and  How  to  Win  Them  .  .  ,  368 


INDEX 


399 


Magnifying  the  Office  of  Superin¬ 


tendent,  by  Almetta  Garrett  .  98 

Manumental  Education,  by  C.  C. 

Lewis  .  Ill 

Medical  Evangelists,  Loma  Linda 

College  of  .  205 

Ministerial  Courses  in  the  Col¬ 
leges  .  204 

Reading  Courses  .  209 

Training  in  the  Academies  .  .  204 
Ministry,  The  Development  of  a 

Strong,  by  J.  L.  Shaw  ....  84 

Training  for  the  .  209 


Miscellaneous  Recommendations 

.  214,  215 

Missionary  Advance,  The  Re¬ 
sponsibility  of  Our  Schools  in 
Relation  to,  by  I.  H.  Evans  .  .  28 

Missionary  Volunteer  Depart¬ 
ment  . 251-387 

Missionary  Volunteer  Movement, 
Progress  and  Problems  of  the, 

by  M.  E.  Kern .  251 

Missionary  Volunteer  Organiza¬ 
tion,  How  to  Make  It  More 
Effective  in  the  Field,  by  M.  E. 

Kern  .  319 

Missionary  Volunteer  Secreta¬ 
ries,  How  to  Secure  Efficient, 

by  Meade  MacGuire  .  315 

Missionary  Volunteer  Society, 

Educational  Features  of  .  .  .  385 

Evangelistic  Efforts  in .  385 

Organization  and  Work  of  the 
Local,  by  C.  A.  Russell  .  . .  333 
Missionary  Volunteer  Work,  How 
Shall  We  Promote  the  Edu¬ 
cational  Features  of,  by  N. 

W.  Lawrence  .  285 

Recommendations  on  . 383-387 

In  Our  Colleges  and  Acade¬ 
mies,  by  C.  L.  Benson .  299 

Morning  Watch  Calendar,  Sug¬ 
gestions  for  the  Circulation  of, 

by  Matilda  Erickson  .  332 

Morning  Watch,  Possibilities  of 
the,  by  Matilda  Erickson  ....  326 
Morrison,  H.  A. 

The  Principles  of  Business 
Efficiency  and  the  Proper 
Financing  of  Our  Schools  .  64 


Nature  of  Young  People,  and 
How  to  Win  Them,  by  Meade 

MacGuire  . 

New  Schools,  Opening  of . 

Normal  Training  Work,  How  Can 
We  Strengthen  Our,  by  B.  B. 
Davis  . 


368 

209 

134 


Olsen,  M.  E. 

Standards  of  Classification 

and  Graduation  .  127 

Opening  Meeting,  Joint  .  5 

Organization  and  Work  of  the 
Local  Society,  by  C.  A.  Russell  333 
Organization,  Educational.  How 
to  Make  It  More  Effective 
in  the  Field,  by  F.  Griggs  .  153 

Of  the  Missionary  Volunteer 
Society  . 383-385 


Of  the  Senior  Society,  by  Var¬ 
ner  Johns  .  337 

Union  Conference  Educational  206 

Palmer’s  Penmanship  Offer  ....  212 

Permit,  Teachers’  Special  .  229 

Personal  Touch  in  Teaching, 

The,  by  I.  H.  Evans .  169 

Pledges  .  202 

Prayer,  The  Week  of,  in  Spring  210 
Problems  and  Policies,  Educa¬ 
tional,  by  F.  Griggs .  9 

Professional  Certificate  .  231 

Progress  and  Problems  of  the 
Missionary  Volunteer  Move¬ 
ment,  by  M.  E.  Kern .  251 

Promotion  .  237 

Publications  . ..209,210 

Purpose  in  Teaching,  The,  by  I. 

H.  Evans .  103 


Qualifications  of  Teachers  ....  204 
Question  of  Teacher  Efficiency  .  34 

Recommendations,  Educational .  . 

.  201-215 

Recommendations,  Missionary 

Volunteer  . 383-387 

Recreation,  Recommendation  .  .  .  214 

Reiswig,  J.  J. 

Foreign  Missionary  Volunteer 

Work  in  America .  346 

Renewals  of  Certificates  212,  229,  231 

Resolution  of  Thanks  .  215 

Robison.,  M.  P. 

Strengthening  Our  Summer 

Schools  .  142 

Reports  of  Committees  . 216-249 

Ruble,  W.  W. 

How  Shall  We  Increase  the 
Attendance  at  Our  Schools 

of  All  Grades?  .  49 

Russell,  C.  A. 

The  Organization  and  Work 
of  the  Local  Society .  333 

Sacredness  of  Teaching,  The,  by 

I.  II.  Evans .  75 

Scholarships  and  Aid  .  213 

School  Credit  for  Home  Work, 
Report  of  Committee  on,  M.  P. 

Robison,  Chairman  .  224 

School  Homes,  Cultural  Educa¬ 
tion  in,  by  E.  C.  Kellogg  ....  176 
School  Year,  Elementary  .  .  .  245,  246 

Schools,  Elementary  . 202,203 

Schools,  Extending  the  Influence 

of  Our,  by  I.  H.  Evans .  192 

Schools,  Our,  Hold  the  Key,  by 

A.  G.  Daniells  .  83 

Science  Equipment,  Report  of 
Committee,  L.  H.  Wood, 

Chairman  .  216 

Sections,  Educational,  Division 

Department  .  208 

Second  Grade  Teachers’  Certifi¬ 
cates  .  229 

Semester  . 206,211,246 

Seminaries,  Foreign  . 165,  204 

Senior  Society,  Organization  of, 
by  Varner  Johns  .  337 


400 


INDEX 


Sex  Education,  by  C.  C.  Lewis  179 
Shaw,  ,T.  L. 

The  Development  of  a  Strong 

'  Ministry  .  84 

Report  o  f  Committee  on 

Courses  . 240-249 

Social  Instincts  of  Young  People, 
Development  and  Direction  of, 

by  M  E.  Kern .  355 

Special  Schools,  Recommenda¬ 
tions  .  204 

Spiritual  Basis  of  Academic 

Standards  .  237 

Standards,  Academic,  Report  of 
Committee  on,  W.  E.  How¬ 
ell,  Chairman . 237-240 

College  .  240 

Elementary,  Report  of  Commit¬ 
tee  on,  C.  A.  Russell,  Chair¬ 
man  . 235-237 

Report  of  Committee  on,  W.  E. 

Howell,  Chairman  . 233,  234 

Standards  of  Classification  and 
Graduation,  by  M.  E.  Olsen  .  .  127 
Summary  of  Missionary  Volun¬ 
teer  Work  .  254 

Summer  Schools,  Strengthening 

Our,  by  M.  P.  Robison  .  142 

Superintendent,  Magnifying  the 
Office  of,  by  Almetta  Garrett  98 
Superintendents.  How  to  Develop 
Efficient,  by  W.  E.  Howell  ...  149 


Teacher  Efficiency,  The  Question 


of,  by  F.  Griggs .  34 

Teacher.  Spiritual  Life  of  the, 

by  I.  H.  Evans . 155 

Tenure  and  Exchange  of  ....  212 
Teachers  .  204 


Qualifications  of  in  Academies  204 


Qualifications  of  in  Colleges  .  204 
Qualifications  of  in  Elemen¬ 
tary  Schools  .  235 

Tenure  and  Exchange  of  ....  212 
Teachers’  Certificates,  212,  229-232 

Examinations  .  212 

Teaching,  The  Call  to,  by  I.  H. 

Evans  .  22 

The  Personal  Touch  in,  by 

I.  H.  Evans  .  169 

The  Purpose  in,  by  I.  H. 

Evans  .  103 

The  Sacredness  of,  by  I.  H. 

Evans .  75 

Technical  Standards  in  the  Acad¬ 
emies  . 238,  239 

Textbook  Making,  The  Next  Step 

in,  by  M.  E.  Cady  .  115 

Textbooks,  Report  of  Committee 
on,  F.  Griggs,  Chairman  .  .217-222 

Thanks,  Resolution  of  .  215 

Third-Grade  Certificates  .  229 

Uniform  Dress  of  Girls . 203,  204 

Units  . 238,239 

Week  of  Prayer,  in  the  Spring  .  210 
Wilkinson,  B.  G. 

The  Relation  of  Our  Schools 
to  Their  Constituency  ....  42 

Wood,  L.  LI. 

The  Report  of  Committee  on 


Science  Equipment  .  216 

Work  Young  People  Can  Do,  by 
M.  E.  Ellis  .  376 

Young  People,  The  Nature  of, 
and  How  to  Win  Them,  by 

Meade  MacGuire  .  368 

Young  People,  Work  They  Can 
Do,  by  M.  E.  Ellis .  376 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


5416114 


